The GOLD V Regional Report on Asia-Pacific Region

2019

The Localization of the Global Agendas How local action is transforming territories and communities

European region

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The Localization of the Global Agendas How local action is transforming territories and communities

The GOLD V Regional Report on Europe

Edited by UCLG and CEMR and PLATFORMA

Content

00 01 02

Preliminary remarks Editorial board Credits Foreword Abbreviations and acronyms Background: Why SDG localization?

Introduction: the European region Page 17

National and local institutional frameworks for the implementation of the SDGs Page 18

2.1 National institutional frameworks 2.2. Current situation of local and regional governments in Europe 2.3. Cooperative multilevel governance partnerships

03

The contribution of local and regional governments to the localization of the SDGs Page 38

3.1. Local government associations’ and regional networks’ actions to support local ownership of the SDGs 3.2. Local and regional government initiatives for the implementation of the SDGs 3.3. Local and regional governments as providers of innovation and solutions to achieve the SDGs

04 05 06 4

Conclusions and policy recommendations: the state of SDG localization in Europe Page 59

Policy recommendations at the global level Page 62

Notes Page 71

Bibliography Page 78

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Editorial board Coordination Edgardo Bilsky Luc Aldon Andrea Ciambra Ainara Fernández Mathilde Penard

Policy advisory Emilia Saiz, Secretary-General, UCLG UCLG Executive Bureau, 2016-2019

Secretary-Generals of UCLG sections ·· Africa: Jean-Pierre Elong Mbassi, UCLG Africa ·· Asia-Pacific: Bernadia Tjandradewi, UCLG ASPAC ·· Eurasia: Rasikh Sagitov, UCLG Eurasia ·· Europe: Fréderic Vallier, CEMR ·· Latin America - CORDIAL: Sergio Arredondo, FLACMA, Nelson Fernández, Mercociudades ·· Middle East and West Asia: Mehmet Duman, UCLG MEWA ·· Metropolis: Octavi de la Varga ·· North America: Brock Carlton, FCM

Credits Anna Calvete Moreno, Expert on governance and global agendas, Barcelona, Spain Agustí Fernández de Losada, Senior Research Fellow and Director of the Global Cities Programme at Barcelona Center for International Affairs (CIDOB), Spain Carl Wright, Secretary-General Emeritus, Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF), United Kingdom With special thanks to: Dorothée Allain-Dupré, Head of Unit, Decentralisation, public investment and subnational finance, CFE/ESG and Isabelle Chatry, Coordinator – Subnational Finance and Territorial Reforms, CFE/ ESG, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); Nicolas Kada, Director, Research Group on Local Administration in Europe (GRALE), France.

UCLG acknowledges the contributions made to the report by CEMR staff: Angelika Poth Moegele, Executive Director European Affairs; Nathalie Noupadja, Head of Research and Studies; Sarah Bentz, Policy Officer; Pedro Bizarro, Project Officer; Marine Gaudron, Policy Officer; Marlène Simeon, Director of PLATFORMA

UCLG World Secretariat

With special thanks for their contribution to the Barcelona Provincial Council (International Relations Directorate) and in particular to Kontxi Odriozola and Ana Tapia.

With special inputs from networks involved in the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments (www.global-taskforce.org)

Special acknowledgements for the financial and advisory support of:

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5

Ministerial Roundtable at the ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development, New York, April 2018 (photo: UCLG-CGLU/ Joel Sheakoski, bit.ly/33dIWf2).

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Foreword

Frédéric Vallier Secretary-General of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a vision for People, Planet, Peace and Prosperity to be achieved through Partnership and solidarity. With only 10 years left to go, efforts need to be geared up in all regions of the globe in this new decade of action. Europe will have a crucial role to play in ensuring a smooth and efficient implementation across its territory, as it is still lagging behind in reaching many of the targets. The European Union’s response will have to become more ambitious, inclusive and multilateral, in order to make the 2030 Agenda a real transformative process for the European continent and the world.

For the Agenda to be a success, all levels of governance have to work together and step up their efforts. All stakeholders will have a strategic role to play, particularly if they work together with peers in partner countries. European local and regional governments and their associations are already embracing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They create new economic, social and ecological opportunities every day and are becoming fully committed actors for the implementation and monitoring of the 2030 Agenda. They notably contribute to safeguarding the institutional coherence, continuity and coordination needed to implement the 2030 Agenda, provided they have the necessary powers, resources and capacities.

The 2030 Agenda also offers a series of opportunities that need to be seized. For local and regional governments, the Sustainable Development Goals represent a transformative framework that strives to improve the delivery of public services for citizens and enhance citizens’ engagement in public policy-making by breaking silos across policy areas and connecting with different stakeholders.

Local and regional governments are having to deal with the vast majority of today’s challenges, including climate change, changing demography,

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waste management, energy efficiency, and local economic development, just to name a few.

Achieving the SDGs therefore depends on full ownership by regions, cities and communities of all sizes. All 17 goals have a territorial dimension and also depend on the place and the territorial context where they are implemented.

The European context is a particular one, offering an active hub for innovation, collaboration, experimentation and co-creation. As a strong player on the international development scene, a lot is expected from Europe to help achieve this global mission. Whereas central governments sometimes find it difficult to cooperate, EU cities and regions are building bridges within Europe and across continents. The 2030 Agenda helps develop a common language between all cultures and territories, putting the wellbeing of citizens and the Planet back at the heart of the discussions.

To reach our ambitions for the next 10 years, we need to understand where we stand today.

The Global Observatory on Local Democracy’s fifth report (GOLD V) on ‘The Localization of the Global Agendas’ is an excellent tool which provides assessments of the implementation of the global agendas in 142 countries across the world, including 41 in the European continent. The finds in this report have been complimented with experience and knowledge from the Council of European Municipalities and Regions’ secretariat, experts and members, and from PLATFORMA’s partners and teams.

The European chapter provides an indepth analysis of the current national enabling environments for SDG implementation. It also analyses decentralisation trends, the current situation for local and regional governments in Europe and provides insights on existing examples of SDG implementation at all levels of governance. I wish readers of this report an informative and inspiring experience!

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Abbreviations and Acronyms A

G

AEBR – Association of European Border Regions AER – Assembly of European Regions AICCRE – Associazione Italiana per il Consiglio dei Comuni e delle Regioni d’Europa (Italian Association for the Council of European Municipalities and Regions) AIMF – Association Internationale des Maires Francophones (International Association of French-speaking Mayors)

GCoM – Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy GDP – Gross domestic product GG — General government [expenditure] GHG – Greenhouse gas GIS – Geographic information system GIZ – German Society for International Cooperation GOLD – Global Observatory on Local Democracy and Decentralization GTF – Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments

C C40 – C40 Cities Climate Leadership CEMR – Council of European Municipalities and Regions CLGF – Commonwealth Local Government Forum CO2 – Carbon dioxide COFOG – Classification of the Functions of Government COP – Conference of the Parties CoR – European Committee of the Regions CPMR – Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions CSCC – Cross-Sectoral Coordinating Centre (Latvia) CSO – Civil society organization

HDI – Human Development Index HLPF – United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development

I

DG – Directorate General (European Commission) DRR – Disaster Risk Reduction

IAEG-SDGs – United Nations Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goals Indicators ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability ICT – Information and Communications Technology ILO – International Labour Organization IMF – International Monetary Fund IPCC – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ISTAT – Istituto Nazionale di Statistica (National Statistics Institute, Italy) IT – Information Technology

E

K

EC – European Commission EDLS – European Days of Local Solidarity EESC – European Economic and Social Committee EIB – European Investment Bank EPSU – European Public Service Union ERDF – European Regional Development Fund ESF – European Social Fund EU – European Union EUR – Euro

KS – Kommunesektorens organisasjon (Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities)

D

F FEMP – Federación Española de Municipalidades y Provincias (Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces)

8

H

L LAI – Local Autonomy Index LALRG – Latvian Association of Local and Regional Governments LGA – Local government association LGBTQIA+ – Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual and other gender identities LGDK – Local Government Denmark LNG – Liquified Natural Gas LRG – Local and regional government

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M

U

MDG – Millennium Development Goal

UCCI – Unión de Ciudades Capitales Iberoamericanas (Union of Iberic-American Capital Cities) UCLG – United Cities and Local Governments UK – United Kingdom UN – United Nations UNCDF – United Nations Capital Development Fund UNDESA – United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs UNDP – United Nations Development Programme UNDRR – United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction UNECE – United Nations Economic Commission for Europe UNEP – United Nations Environment Programme UNFCCC – United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UN-Habitat – United Nations Human Settlements Programme UNHCR – United Nations Refugee Agency UNPAN – United Nations Public Administration Network UNSG – United Nations Secretary-General USD – U.S. dollar

N NALAS – Network of Associations of Local Authorities NDCs – Nationally-Determined Contributions NDP – National development plan NDS – National development strategy NGO – Non-governmental organization NSDS – National sustainable development strategy NUA – New Urban Agenda NUP – National urban policy

O ODA – Official Development Assistance OECD – Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development

P PIT – Personal Income Tax PLATFORMA – European Platform of Local and Regional Authorities for Development PPP – Public-Private Partnership PPPP – Public-Private-People Partnership PSI – Public Service International

R RAI – Regional Autonomy Index RFSC – Reference Framework for Sustainable Cities

S SDG – Sustainable Development Goal SDSN – United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network SIDA – Swedish International Development Agency SME – Small and medium-sized enterprise SNG – Sub-national government SRD – Strategy for Responsible Development (Poland)

V VLR – Voluntary Local Review VNG – Vereniging van Nederlandse Gemeenten (Association of Netherlands Municipalities) VNGi – VNG International VNR – Voluntary National Review VVSG – Vereniging van Vlaamse Steden en Gemeenten (Association of Flemish Cities and Municipalities)

W WHO – World Health Organization

# 100RC – 100 Resilient Cities Project

T TALD – Territorial approach to local development

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Background: Why SDG localization?

In 2015 and 2016, world leaders came together to set a historic milestone in multilateral cooperation with the adoption of global agreements towards sustainable development. The 2030 Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the New Urban Agenda, the Paris Agreement on climate change, the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development all showcased a global will to respond to today’s global challenges through the adoption of a firm rights-based approach.

Local and regional governments (LRGs) have risen to the scale of the challenge, demonstrating their commitment to the realization of the global agendas by putting in place elaboration, adoption and implementation processes. From their perspective, the global agendas are interlinked and cannot be achieved in isolation: all sustainability actions to address the highly interrelated challenges affecting our territories and cities must be fully integrated and comprehensive. The 2030 Agenda has been widely embraced across territories and represents a significant step forward in terms of ambition, universality and complexity with respect to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The interconnectedness of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provides, on the one hand, our best shot at tackling the multi-dimensional challenges facing our societies.

On the other, it requires a significant step up in policy-making efforts and the adoption of a truly integrated approach that ensures that ‘no one and no place are left behind’ — in other words, the UN ‘whole-of-government’ and ‘wholeof-society’ approach to development (see Box 1), encompassing a truly multilevel and multistakeholder governance system that puts people at the centre of development (see Box 2).

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We currently stand at the end of the first quadrennial cycle of implementation of the SDGs, which means that the worldwide state of implementation of each SDG has been evaluated at least once. Consequently, the international community is taking this time to take stock of the progress made, the trends that have emerged and the challenges encountered over these past four years, and these will be discussed at the

Box 1

‘Whole-of-government’ and ‘whole-of-society’ approaches Multilevel and collaborative governance frameworks that emphasize the need to approach policy-making processes in an integrated way, factoring in all government bodies and members of society. Adopting these approaches is critical for advancing sustainable development, since they constitute the basis for policy coherence (see Box 7) by requiring policy-making to happen in an integrated manner beyond institutional siloes, promoting synergies and improving public accountability. Putting governance frameworks in place requires the establishment of adequate coordination and participation mechanisms that ensure that sub-national governments (SNGs) and members of society take part effectively in policy design, implementation and monitoring processes at all levels of government.

Source: UNPAN; GTF, UCLG (2019), 'Towards the Localization of the SDGs'.

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SDG Summit in September 2019. According to the UN’s quadrennial Global Sustainable Report and the UN Secretary-General 2019 Special Report, positive trends have emerged at the aggregate global level, in particular regarding the implementation of SDGs 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11 and 14.1 Extreme poverty, child mortality rates and the share of the urban population living in slums continue to decrease, while progress has been made with respect to health, certain gender equality targets and access to electricity in poor territories. However, the shift towards a new sustainability paradigm is not taking place at the pace and scale required to trigger the necessary transformation to meet the Goals by 2030. The incidence of hunger has continued to spread in 2019, a trend observed since 2016. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, 70% of which cities are responsible for, also continue to increase, while the loss of biodiversity continues to accelerate dramatically as the intensity of climate change worsens.2 Despite the progress made in poverty reduction, rising inequality continues to fuel the exclusion of discriminated and disadvantaged populations (such as the poor, women, youth, the elderly, people with disabilities, ethnic and sexual minorities, amongst others). Moreover, although the means of implementation are progressing, finance for sustainable development remains an ongoing issue. Institutions often depleted by territorial conflict are not robust enough to respond to the magnitude of the interrelated challenges they face.

As stressed by the UN Secretary-General (UNSG), the current social, economic and environmental trends that are shaping the world have a major impact on the realization of the SDGs and present a daunting challenge in terms of meeting the Goals in the mandated time. The UNSG identifies five such trends — urbanization, demographic change, climate change, protracted crises and frontier technologies.3 The interactions, synergies and trade-offs between these trends give rise to highly complex and interconnected policy-making environments at local, national and international levels. One of the main objectives of the GOLD V Report has been to examine how LRGs are contributing to the achievement of the global agendas in the face of such trends. These agendas — and the commitment of LRGs to achieving them — are changing our societies and promoting the evolution of good governance and citizen participation in highly diverse contexts all around the world. It is therefore critical to take this time to better understand where LRGs stand with respect to SDG implementation, and to revisit policy-making processes in order to take full advantage of the mutually reinforcing potential of global agendas and local processes as catalysers for change. The aim of the GOLD V Report is to contribute to such an endeavour, looking at

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how to promote integrated policies and actions that meet today’s challenges from the local and regional perspective.

The GOLD V report highlights how, as part of their day-to-day responsibilities, LRGs are implementing policies and carrying out actions which although not always officially ‘SDGlabelled’, have a direct impact on populations’ access to infrastructure, services and life opportunities. As acknowledged by the UN General Assembly, the UNSG and the Habitat III consensus, the decarbonization of our economies and ensuring access to energy, water, food, transport and infrastructure will ultimately be achieved through project-level investments that take place mostly at the sub-national level and are led by LRGs.4 It is thus crucial to build up a critical mass of knowledge about how territories and cities are progressing towards sustainability, what initiatives are being put forward and what obstacles are being encountered if we are to achieve the SDGs and other global agendas.

One of the main transformations humanity is experiencing is the rapid urbanization of society, and in this respect LRGs find themselves increasingly at the centre of many crucial challenges. The percentage of the world’s population living in urban areas is expected to rise from 55% to nearly 70% by 2050 — an increase of 2.3 billion urban dwellers likely to be concentrated in low and lower middle-income territories where urbanization is happening at the fastest rate. Changes in population growth, age composition and migration patterns heavily impact urbanization pathways and those of the surrounding territories, cutting across a wide range of SDGs — for example poverty eradication, access to food and water, health, gender equality, economic growth and decent work, the reduction

Box 2

Multilevel governance A decision-making system based on coordination mechanisms that allow the allocation of competences and responsibilities of government both vertically and horizontally in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity (see Box 6) and that respect local autonomy. This system recognizes that there is no optimal level of decentralization (see Box 5) and that implementation and competences are strongly contextspecific: complete separation of responsibilities and outcomes in policymaking cannot be achieved and different levels of government are interdependent. Multilevel governance necessitates all levels sharing information and collaborating fully, so that every level can publicly and accountably lead horizontal relations with respective stakeholders to optimize policy outcomes.

Source: UCLG (2016), 'Fourth Global Report on Local Democracy and Decentralization.

Co-creating the Urban Future'.

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of inequalities and promoting sustainable cities that are better articulated with their hinterlands — which significantly influences the prospects for SDG implementation. At the aggregate level, world population growth has slowed compared with ten years ago and stands at an annual growth rate of 1.1%.5 However, such figures mask highly heterogeneous demographic patterns between regions and urban and rural territories.

While more than half the growth forecast between 2019 and 2050 (estimated at two billion people) is expected to take place in Africa, Asia is expected to grow by 650 million people, Latin America by 180 million whilst Europe’s population is expected to decrease.6 Population growth will be concentrated in the least economically developed regions, which will make it even harder for those territories and cities to eradicate poverty and hunger and improve the provision of education, health and basic services. Moreover, the number of persons aged over 60 is expected to rise to 1.4 billion by 2030, although the pace at which the population is aging varies greatly between world regions. By 2050, all regions of the world are expected to have more than 25% of their populations aged over 60 — with the exception of Africa, which is expected to concentrate the world’s largest share of population aged between 15 and 19. Aging territories and cities will face increasing fiscal and political pressure to provide the elderly with pensions and social protection.

At the same time, it will be critical for territories and cities with swelling youth populations to provide adequate healthcare, education and job opportunities to ensure the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

Climate and environmental challenges are profoundly reshaping our territories and have a direct impact on cities. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

(IPCC) 2018 Special Report, the world has already warmed by 1°C above pre-industrial levels and, at the current rate of warming of 0.2°C per decade, global warming will reach 1.5°C by 2030. This report stresses the pivotal role played by cities in climate change mitigation and in reaching the agreed goal of limiting climate change to 2°C, and if possible 1.5°C. Allowing global warming to reach 2°C will critically endanger natural and human systems and will particularly affect the most vulnerable populations and territories. Since 1990, climate-related extreme disasters have more than doubled. This, together with drastically changing weather conditions, is causing unquantifiable suffering and loss of human life and the destruction of infrastructure, aggravating resource scarcity and forcing the displacement of populations. Existing tensions act as risk multipliers for violence, putting additional pressure on often fragile political systems and resources. Since 2010, state-based and nonstate-based conflicts have risen by 60% and 125% respectively, while the number of globally displaced people has doubled over the past 20 years to reach 65 million.7 The deterioration of global peace constitutes a fundamental threat to the rule of law and good governance and, consequently, to the cornerstones of sustainable development.

In the face of such challenges, it is imperative that we scale up and accelerate action before it is too late. In order to do so, we need to think differently about development strategies and adopt an evidence-based approach to sustainable development that reflects the reality of today’s world. Urbanization, the development of frontier technologies and connectivity are some of the defining features of our contemporary societies, and although they pose challenges to governance, they are also the key to achieving the SDGs and preserving life for future generations.

The Local and Regional Governments’ Forum, organized by the Global Taskforce, during the United Nations’ SDG Summit in New York on September 24, 2019 (photo: UCLG-CGLU/Ege Okal, bit.ly/2naVvsb).

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Purposes and goals of the report

The purpose of the GOLD V Report is to propose how these ambitious Global Goals and objectives can be met through policies, actions and initiatives designed and put in place by the territories and communities that make up cities, towns and regions.

The report suggests that this cannot be done unless urban and territorial planning, strategic design, institutional environments and political roadmaps are fully embedded in the territories, i.e. ‘territorialized’, taking full advantage of local potentialities, involving all local stakeholders and building on local needs and demands. In other words, these goals can only be achieved through a fully-fledged, coowned and accountable process of localization of the global agendas (see Box 3).

Territories and cities can lead transformational processes that promote development models that are both respectful of the environment and put people first. Territorialized development strategies based on integrated planning have the power to transform cities and territories, foster inclusion, reduce resource usage and GHG emissions, and improve rural-urban linkages.

When coupled with cutting-edge technologies, the economies of scale facilitated by cities and their ability to attract innovation become major catalysts for the achievement of the SDGs, allowing for the development of alternative patterns of production and consumption, decentralized renewable energy systems, individualized healthcare, natural disaster detection solutions, and stronger bonds between cities, towns and their hinterlands. The possibilities are endless.

As shown throughout the GOLD V Report, such localized development strategies, developed from and suited to local realities, also have an impact on the global process of transforming development, which in turn reinforces sustainable

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local processes. The transformational potential of a territorial approach to local development (TALD) is enormous (see Box 4). Yet, in order to fully unleash it and ensure the implementation of the global development agendas, important challenges must be tackled. Significant efforts have been made since 2015 to implement the 2030 Agenda’s provisions and advance towards the achievement of the Goals. However, given the multi-dimensional challenges our societies are facing, the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs call for a move beyond narrow targeted policy-making towards a review of governance culture and

Box 3

Localization The 2030 Agenda emphasizes the need for an inclusive and localized approach to the SDGs. Localization is described as ‘the process of defining, implementing and monitoring strategies at the local level for achieving global, national, and sub-national sustainable development goals and targets.’

More specifically, it takes into account subnational contexts for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda, from the setting of goals and targets to determining the means of implementation and using indicators to measure and monitor progress.

Source: GTF, UCLG (2019), 'Towards the Localization of the SDGs'; GTF, UNDP, UN-Habitat (2016), 'Roadmap for Localizing the SDGs: Implementation and Monitoring at Subnational Level'; UN Development Group (2014), 'Localizing the Post2015 Agenda' (outcome of the global UN dialogue process realized from June 2014 to October 2014).

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institutions. As discussed in the GOLD V Report, existing national strategies and institutional frameworks for SDG implementation, as well as the state of decentralization and the means available for local implementation of the global agendas, determine the transformational strength that local action can achieve (see Box 5). Questions thus arise: can the SDGs both inspire local action and influence such institutional environments?; and can local action arising from the cities and territories translate into global change?

Box 4

Territorial approach to local development (TALD) National development policy that recognizes local development as being endogenous, incremental, spatially integrated and multiscalar, and which acknowledges the primary responsibility of local authorities for planning, managing and financing such local development — in other words, development that enables autonomous and accountable local authorities to leverage the contribution of actors operating at multiple scales to produce public goods and services tailored to the local reality, which in turn brings incremental value to national development efforts.

Source: European Commission DEVCO (2016), 'Supporting decentralization, local governance and local development through a territorial approach'.

Box 5

Decentralization The existence of local authorities, as distinct from the state’s administrative authorities, to whom the legal framework allocates powers, resources and capacities to exercise a degree of selfgovernment in order to meet the allocated responsibilities. Their decision-making legitimacy is underpinned by representative, elected local democratic structures that determine how power is exercised and make local authorities accountable to citizens in their jurisdiction.

The World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investment proposes the following definition: ‘decentralization consists of the transfer of powers, responsibilities and resources from central government to sub-national governments, defined as separated legal entities elected by universal suffrage and having some degree of autonomy’.

Source: UN Habitat (2009), 'International Guidelines on Decentralisation and Access to Basic Services'; UCLG (2008), 'Decentralization and Local Democracy in the World,First Global Report on Local Democracy and Decentralization'; OECD-UCLG (2019), 'World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investments'.

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This is important for shedding light on a number of related issues affecting (and changing) development policy globally. As stated previously, this study primarily aims to show the state of progress of SDG achievement in the territories and emphasize its critical importance for the realization of the global agendas. On the one hand, it is widely acknowledged that fulfilment of the 2030 Agenda requires the full engagement and commitment of all levels of governance including LRGs, civil society and local stakeholders such as the private sector, social partners, academia and grassroots organizations. On the other, territories and local communities are where implementation is taking place. The key question addressed by the GOLD V Report is the extent to which towns, cities, provinces and regions have been able — through their actions and initiatives — to become part of the solution to the fundamental and historic challenges they face. Analyzing the progress that local governments are making in the implementation of the Goals and their ‘localization’ — bringing them down to the local level, rethinking and re-designing them so that they fit with the characteristics and demands of citizens and territories — is an indication of how well the SDG framework itself is developing, and how much there is still left to do.

The GOLD V Report also aims to provide an updated picture on the current state of decentralization around the world. Achieving the SDGs and the other global agendas at the local level will not be possible unless territories, communities, and local authorities at different sub-national levels are adequately empowered, supported and funded. This implies strengthening and improving decentralization of the political system, promoting the devolution of competences and powers, ensuring respect for the principle of subsidiarity and making local governments responsible and accountable (see Box 6).

This regional report includes an analysis of national strategies for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and how LRGs are being engaged in this process, whether the institutional framework enables LRGs to be proactive in the implementation of these agendas, and the status of decentralization in the region. The report aims to answer questions on decentralization trends and the development of a truly multilevel understanding of policy-making: are LRGs more empowered and active than they used to be?; have the SDGs and the other global agendas driven any change in institutional relationships and vertical/horizontal cooperation?; are national planning and decision-making mechanisms and systems more open, sensitive to and aware of LRGs and their unique potential within territories and communities to effect change?

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Looking at decentralization and providing upto-date mapping of how this trend has evolved are all the more essential in studying territorial and municipal authorities, given that rapid (and often uncontrolled) urbanization has become a worldwide phenomenon and a fundamental challenge facing local governance. Urbanization has had a crucial impact on several dimensions of local and regional governance: from urban and territorial planning, to the provision of basic public services; from socio-economic equality to marginalization and informality in housing and work; from the inevitable impact of climate change to the creation of new social and cross-cutting alliances to improve democracy, transparency and the quality of life in cities and territories. However, advances in these fields raise fundamental questions of sustainability and viability. The global agendas were agreed with the expectation that LRGs would act as accelerators and catalysts in the process, but how is this pressure altering the political balance? What room is there for LRGs to see their competences, powers, capacities, financial and human resources grow and improve, making them more aware, responsible and able to play an active role in the global quest for sustainability, prosperity and inclusiveness?

What kind of financial autonomy is really granted to local and regional governments? There are plenty of financial and management instruments (climate and green bonds, Public-Private-People Partnerships — PPPPs — and remunicipalizations, amongst many others) that are changing the way actors are empowered at all levels to become drivers of change and leaders in policy-making. In what way are these new opportunities accessible to local governments? And how can those that are more visionary and long-sighted fund and sustain their policies and agendas in the long term?

The ability of LRGs to report on their policies and actions is also problematic since it is currently limited by a substantial lack of data, indicators and measurement which historically has not been devolved or disaggregated enough (with the partial exception of larger and wealthier regions and cities), hindering the capacity to grasp the huge potential at the local level for the localization and achievement of the Goals.

Ultimately, the responsibilities that LRGs are assuming in the localization of the SDGs and other agendas are raising fundamental questions of local democracy, accountability and transparency, representation and the place occupied by the local level in the current global system. Can LRGs be catalysts for change in politics and development policy? Do LRGs have the means and capacities to ensure that ‘no person or place is left behind’? Can effective intergovernmental cooperation across all levels of governance improve performance, boost policy coherence (see Box 7) and help make the SDGs

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Box 6

Subsidiarity The principle according to which public responsibilities should be exercised by those elected authorities closest to citizens.

The central authority should have a subsidiary function, performing only those responsibilities or tasks which cannot be performed at a more local level. Subsidiarity requires that local governments have adequate financial, managerial and technical and professional resources to enable them to assume their responsibilities to meet local needs, carrying out a significant share of public expenditure. Local governments should be granted the authority and power to raise local resources in line with the principle that authority be commensurate with responsibility as well as the availability of resources. The principle of subsidiarity constitutes the rationale underlying the process of decentralization.

Source: UN Habitat, 'International Guidelines on Decentralisation and Access to Basic Services' (2009); UCLG (2013), 'Third Global Report on Local Democracy and Decentralization. Basic Services for All in an Urbanizing World'.

and the global agendas a reality, with positive effects on the quality of life of territories, cities, communities and society? Can the SDGs trigger a new model of development — urban, territorial, social, economic and human — which starts at the local level? This regional report provides inputs, answers and critiques of these points, as well as exploring other relevant issues. The conclusions and policy recommendations provide a common vision and understanding of the way forward for LRGs.

Box 7

Policy coherence An approach to sustainable development that calls for the integration of economic, social, environmental and governance dimensions in the policy-making process, acknowledging the critical interlinkages that exist between the SDGs. It aims to foster synergies, promote partnerships and balance transboundary and intergenerational policy impacts in order to identify and manage the relationships between SDGs in a way that limits and overcomes any potential negative impact resulting from their implementation.

Source: OECD (2019), 'Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development 2019'.

15

European region

Albania Andorra Austria Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Latvia

16

Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands Northern Macedonia Norway Poland Portugal Romania San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom

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01. Introduction: the European region The current situation in Europe is affected by the core strategies and policies adopted over the past few years by nearly all the countries in the region, as well as by the European Union (EU). Despite the economic recovery that has been taking place following the 2008-2009 global crisis, some territories in Europe are still struggling to catch up. Territorial and socioeconomic inequalities in the region are growing, fuelling social unrest and political developments that have led to institutional changes within the countries in Europe and have compromised the influence of many EU institutions. The result of the British referendum that initiated the ‘Brexit’ process is one of these critical manifestations of unrest. Migratory policies are creating huge controversy among European countries, while the social mobilization of the ‘yellow vests’ in France was perceived as the protest of people living in peripheries who feel they ‘have been left behind’. At the same time, to fulfil its commitments on climate change and biodiversity, Europe needs to accelerate implementation. Moreover, at the sub-national level, local and regional governments (LRGs) are still finding it difficult to recover the level of investment they had before the crisis, which is hindering their capacity to respond to new challenges. These new challenges include mitigation of climate change, impacts of new technologies, increasing social demands — such as the housing crisis and increasing precariousness — or adaptation to aging population in most countries.

Europe, and particularly Western Europe, is the third most urbanized region of the world after North America and Latin America.1 Detailed information of urbanization trends in the 28 EU Member States provided by Eurostat highlights that in 2016, cities made up 59% of EU total population, accounting for 68% of EU gross national product (GDP) and providing 62% of EU employment.2 It also means that 41% are nonurban inhabitants and that specific policies are needed in order to address territorial imbalance.3

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This report looks at the situation of LRGs in Europe with particular reference to the extent to which they are actively engaged in the implementation of sustainable policies and especially in the localization of the SDGs of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as other key global targets, for example on climate change.

The report analyses both the national enabling environments for SDG implementation, decentralization trends and the current situation of LRGs in Europe, drawing on a range of statistical data from the last ten years. It also explores the emergence of what are termed ‘cooperative multilevel partnerships’ at both national and EU levels. It then reviews detailed LRG contributions to SDG localization, citing examples at local, regional, national and EU level. Finally, some broad conclusions and lessons are drawn and some recommendations proposed to boost SDG implementation and localization in Europe.

Londonderry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom (photo: PLACE Built Environment Centre, t.ly/800DP).

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02. National and local institutional frameworks for the implementation of the SDGs

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2.1 National institutional frameworks

European countries have committed to implement the 2030 Agenda, and other key global pacts agreed since 2015-2016 (notably the Paris Agreement on climate change, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, Addis Ababa Action Agenda for Financing for Development, and the New Urban Agenda).

The 2030 Agenda and its 17 SDGs are therefore a potential ‘game changer’ for achieving policy coherence across governments by establishing national SDG implementation frameworks through SDG localization by LRGs. Thirty-seven European countries submitted Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) to the UN High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) between 2016 and 2019, and they have expressed their political commitments to implement the 2030 Agenda.

Many are in the process of aligning national strategic frameworks to the SDGs (see Table 1 and related endnote for the full list of countries that reported to the HLPF).4

Institutional mechanisms for SDG implementation National SDG coordinating mechanisms have been established or designated in European countries. These can either be new mechanisms created for SDG monitoring, or existing bodies or ministries, such as Commissions on Sustainable Development. Many countries place the coordination mechanism at the centre of government, at the Head of State or Prime Minister’s Office, for example. Most coordinating mechanisms are inter-ministerial, to encourage policy coherence across governments, given that the SDGs affect most governmental ministries’ policies. They also sometimes entail multistakeholder engagement, including LRGs and their representative associations (see Table 1).

Finland has one of the most developed institutional structures for SDG implementation, involving a National Commission on Sustainable Development, with LRG representation, chaired by the Prime Ministers’ Office, an Inter-ministerial Coordination Secretariat, a Development Policy Committee in Parliament, and an Interdisciplinary Sustainable Development Expert Panel. In

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France, there is a High-Level Commissioner for Sustainable Development under the authority of the Prime Minister, located within the Ministry of Environment, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since April 2018, a High-Level Steering Committee for the SDGs is in charge of developing a roadmap for the implementation of the SDGs. This committee includes representatives of LRG organizations.

In Germany, there is a State Secretaries’ Committee for Sustainable Development, a Parliamentary Advisory Council and a German Council for Sustainable Development (dating back to 2001). Switzerland has an Inter-Departmental Sustainable Development Committee and National 2030 Agenda Working Group. Similar coordinating mechanisms exist in most other European countries, as shown in Table 1. In a number of instances, such as in the Nordic countries and the Netherlands, well-established procedures for consultation ensure effective dialogue and involvement. Research undertaken

by UCLG however indicates that LRGs are only formally represented in (or consulted by) national SDG mechanisms in 20 countries to date (over 37 countries that reported to the HLPF between 2016 and 2019), and in many of these only on multistakeholder advisory committees, and not the main policy commissions or intergovernmental structures.5 In Spain, for example, in February 2019, the national government created a National Commission for the 2030 Agenda as a specific mechanism to ensure cooperation with LRGs (see also Section 3.1).6

In a number of instances, such as in the Nordic countries and the Netherlands, well-established procedures for consultation ensure effective dialogue and involvement of LRG representatives and local stakeholders.

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National strategies for integrating SDGs, coordination mechanisms and LRG participation

Table 1

Albania

Bulgaria

Finland

Inter-ministerial Committee on SDGs chaired by Deputy Prime Minister (multi-stakeholder); inter-institutional technical working groups support the implementation (liaise with local governments). National Strategy for Development and Integration 20152020 (NSDI II) closely aligned with SDGs.

Council for Development, chaired by the Prime Minister; Coordinating Committee for the National Programme for Development (not specifically for SDGs). SDGs aligned with National Programme for Development: Bulgaria 2020. It will report in 2020.

Two representatives each from the regions, cities and municipal administrations sit on the National Commission on Sustainable Development chaired by the Prime Minister. SDG alignment at national and local level. SDG implementation strategy includes ‘The Finland we want by 2050 – Society's commitment to sustainable development’

Andorra Council of Ministers oversees the implementation. Coordination: Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The 2030 Agenda integrated in Andorra’s policies and plans.

National Council for Sustainable Development chaired by the Prime Minister, includes local government organizations (LGAs).

The 2030 National Development Strategy will be adopted in 2020.

Austria (Federal)

Cyprus

The liaison office of the Länder is involved with the Ministry of Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs in developing a Three-Year Programme 2019-21 that incorporates the SDGs. It will report in 2020.

Belgium (Federal) Inter-ministerial Conference for Sustainable Development led by Ministry of Sustainable Development; Inter-departmental Commission for Sustainable Development (coordination between federal administration) and Federal Council for Sustainable Development (regions represented). In Wallonia an independent SD advisory unit was set up in 2013 within the Walloon administration. In Flanders a specific working group on sustainable development is guiding the translation of the SDGs into goals relevant for Flemish policy and to further their implementation. The local government association, VVSG, is represented in the Flemish Council for Sustainable Development as well as involved on an ad hoc basis. In the Brussels-Capital Region, new legislation concerning development aid was adopted in the summer of 2017. The Long-Term Vision Statement for the Belgian 2030 outlook as well as the three regional strategies (Flanders, Wallonia, Brussels-Capital) and German community are aligned with the SDG.

Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federal) Intergovernmental SDGs Rollout Working Group. SDG Rollout Roadmap (document) developed. A consultation process during 2018 –‘Imagine 2030'- will be finalized in 2019.

20

Croatia

France

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and inter-ministerial contact group.

SDGs incorporated in the Action Plan for Growth and the National Reform Programme.

Office of Commissioner-General for Sustainable Development (within the Ministry of Environment) and the High-Level Steering Committee for Sustainable Development (CPHN, multistakeholder). The National Strategy for Ecological Transition towards Sustainable Development 2015-2020 (SNTEDD). In April 2018, a High-Level Steering Committee for the SDGs was created to develop a roadmap for the implementation of the SDGs.

Czech Republic

Germany (Federal)

Government Council on Sustainable Development chaired by the Prime Minister (advisory). Coordination: Office of the Government and the Ministry of Environment. LRGs represented in the Council. SDGs integrated in the Czech Republic 2030 Strategic Framework.

State Secretaries Committee for Sustainable Development led by Federal Chancellery; Council for Sustainable Development; extensive engagement with states and local government on preparation of its renewed Sustainable Development Strategy; LRGs participate in Inter-Ministerial Working Group on Sustainable Urban Development. SDG alignment under NSDS 2017.

Denmark Inter-ministerial group led by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; formal agreement with municipalities/region to implement SDGs including with Local Government Denmark (LGDK) and Danish regions. In 2017, the government launched a National Action Plan containing 37 national targets on SDG implementation as well as a new strategy for international development cooperation and humanitarian action titled “The World 2030”.

Estonia Inter-ministerial working group on sustainable development led

by Government Office Strategy Unit and Sustainable Development Commission (includes association of cities/municipalities). ‘Sustainable Estonia 21’ close to the SDGs.

Greece General Secretariat of the Government, in particular its Office of Coordination, Institutional, International and European Affairs (OCIIEA); interministerial coordination network; Economic and Social Committee (with LRG participation). National Growth Strategy and National Priorities for SDGs (2018). National Implementation Plan will follow in 2019.

Hungary National Council for Sustainable Development, chaired by the Speaker of the Parliament (multi-stakeholder), supported by a Secretariat and four working committees; Interministerial Coordinative Committee for International Development Cooperation. SDGs aligned within the National Framework Strategy on Sustainable Development (NFSSD) 2012-2024 (adopted in 2013).

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Iceland

Luxembourg

Inter-ministerial working group involving all ministries, including the Association of Local Authorities and Statistics Iceland. The representative of the Prime Minister’s Office is chairman of the group and the Foreign Ministry’s representative vice-chairman. SDGs linked to the government's five-year fiscal strategy.

Inter-departmental Commission for Sustainable Development.

Coordination: Minister of Environment; High-Level Council. SDGs aligned to National Sustainable Development Plan that was revised in 2018.

Ireland Minister of Communications, Climate Action and Environment and Senior Official Group chaired by the Prime Minister; National Sustainable Development Unit and SDG Interdepartmental Working Group; National SDG Stakeholders Forum including local government. SDG National Implementation Plan 2018-2020 and Project Ireland 2040 composed two documents: National Planning Framework to 2040 and National Development Plan 2018-2027.

Italy Prime Minister coordinates, supported by the Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Finance.

National Forum for Sustainable Development (multi-stakeholder).

Regional government involved. SDGs aligned with NSDS 2017-2030.

Latvia Cross-Sectoral Coordinating Centre (CSCC) led by the Prime Minister (LRGs consulted), and National Development Council. In preparation for the 2018 VNR, the CSCC had a working group in which the national LGA was represented.

SDGs aligned with the Sustainable Development Strategy of Latvia until 2030 (Latvia 2030) and the National Development Plan 2020 (NDP2020).

Liechtenstein Interdisciplinary working group led by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Justice and Culture. SDGs integrated in the 2017–2021 Government Programme.

Lithuania National Commission for Sustainable Development chaired by the Prime Minister (advisory, multi-stakeholder).

Coordination is overseen by the Ministry of Environment and inter-institutional working group on sustainable development. SDGs aligned with National Strategy for Sustainable Development (2003-2020, revised), in Lithuania’s Progress Strategy ‘Lithuania 2030’, and the government’s four-year action programme.

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Malta Ministry for the Environment, Sustainable Development and Climate Change and Foreign Office and Trade Promotion act as focal point network.

SDGs integrated in the NSDS 2050.

Moldova Council for Sustainable Development.

Coordination: State Chancellery, with the support of National Bureau of Statistics. SDGs partially aligned with the National Development Strategy Moldova 2020 (2012). A National Development Strategy Moldova 2030 is in preparation. The country will present its first VNR in 2020.

Monaco Coordination: inter-ministerial working group chaired by the Minister of State, managed by the Department of External Relations and Cooperation.

The government prioritized the SDG related to environmental protection. No local governments.

Montenegro National Council for Sustainable Development and Climate Change (2013, multi-stakeholder), Sustainable Development Office in the Office of the Prime Minister (oversight). Coordination: Ministry of Finance. SDGs aligned with the NSDS until 2030.

Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation; national coordinator; inter-ministerial focal group with focal points in ministries and the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG) (LGA); regular dialogue with LRGs. SDGs mainstreamed in the Netherlands Action Plan on Inclusive Development. Aruba, Curaçao, St Maarten integrate the SDGs in their National Development Plan or in the Roadmap of the SDGs (Aruba).

Norway Ministry of Finance (budget alignment); Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Climate and Environment coordinate external and internal actions. Regular dialogue with LRGs. SDG follow-up linked to the budget process.

Poland Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Technology and Strategy for Responsible Development (SRD) Coherence Task Force within the Coordination Committee for Development Policy (LRG representation). Political guidance by the Council of Ministers.

SDGs integrated in the SRD.

Portugal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Planning and Infrastructures lead inter-ministerial commissions (domestic and overseas SDG implementation). SDGs integrated in the National Reform Programme.

Romania Department for Sustainable Development under the Office of the Prime Minister, Inter-ministerial Committee for the Coordination of the Integration of Environmental Protection headed by the Ministry of Environment. Revision of NSDS of Romania Horizon 2013-2020-2030.

Serbia Inter-Ministerial Working Group for Implementation of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda (IMWG) chaired and coordinated by the Minister without Portfolio responsible for demography and population policy.

LGA participates in the Joint National Steering Committee co-chaired by the UN Resident Coordinator.

SDGs aligned with National Plan for Adoption of the EU Acquis from 2018 to 2021 (NPAA) and with the Development Partnership Framework (DPF) for the period 2016 – 2020.

Slovakia Multi-stakeholder Government Council for the 2030 Agenda led

by Deputy Prime Minister; Working Group for the 2030 Agenda. Including the Association of Towns and Municipalities of Slovakia (ZMOS).

Strategy: National Priorities of the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

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Table 1 National strategies for integrating SDGs, coordination mechanisms and LRG participation

Slovenia

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, in close cooperation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs; Permanent Inter-Ministerial Working Group on Development Policies. The 2030 Agenda is aligned with the Vision of Slovenia, released in 2017. In December 2017, Slovenia’s Government adopted also the National Development Strategy 2030.

Spain

High-Level Commission (inter-ministerial) with LRG observers; Office of the High Commissioner for the 2030 Agenda, under the Office of the President of Government.

Action plan in process of elaboration.

Sweden

Minister of Public Administration and the Minister for International Development Cooperation and Climate; inter-ministerial working group; thematic commissions; regular dialogue with LRGs. Adopted an Action Plan for the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

Switzerland (Federal)

Oversight: Federal Council of Switzerland.

Coordination: inter-departmental National 2030 Agenda Working Group, co-led by the Federal Office for Spatial Development and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC); strong engagement of cantons and communes. SDGs aligned to NSDS 2016-2019 (revised every four years).

United Kingdom

Cabinet Office and Department for International Development. Strategies: UK Government’s Programme of Work; Welsh Government SDG alignment through 2015 Wellbeing of Future Generations Act; Scotland’s National Performance Framework.

Europe

Sources: VNRs 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019. UNDESA (2017 and 2018).

'Compendium of National Institutional Arrangements for Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development'.

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SDG alignment to national policies and local and regional government involvement The majority of European countries have national strategies for sustainable development, supported by national commissions/committees, which pre-date the 2030 Agenda. These are still in force and in most countries are being mapped against the SDGs to align them with SDG targets; examples include Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Romania and Switzerland. In other countries, national development policies (NDPs) (Albania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania), or government work plans (Croatia, Iceland, Portugal) are being aligned with the SDGs. According to an EU statement in 2019, ‘about half of the Member States are about to take measures to operationalize their strategies or to link them to the budget: Croatia, Estonia, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden’.7 A few countries have not yet defined a specific national framework or cross-sectoral strategy (Austria, Iceland, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and UK). Bosnia and Herzegovina and Spain are currently doing so.8 By way of example, Estonia undertook a ‘gap analysis’ of its policies and the SDGs and identified a range of differentials which need to be addressed. The Swiss Sustainable Development Strategy 2016-19 is linked to SDG implementation; Switzerland also submitted separate VNRs in 2016 and 2018. Finland’s strategy for sustainable development likewise references the SDGs, following its updating in 2017. Moreover, Denmark has formulated an action plan for the achievement of the SDGs nationally.9 At regional level, the European institutions have reaffirmed their commitment to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda worldwide.10 However, the EU does not yet have sustainable development strategy. The Council of the European Union asked the European Commission (EC) to develop a comprehensive implementation strategy during 2019.11 Most national frameworks for the implementation of the SDGs adopted by European countries reference the need to support LRGs, and LGAs in 13 countries have been involved in the design of the national strategies.12 LRGs and their national LGAs were consulted by national government and involved in SDG implementation in a number of European countries. For example, in Switzerland the federal level felt it critical to integrate sustainable development principles into all levels of government, including the cantons and communes, to create and increase ownership: many communes have in fact defined their own strategies for sustainable development. In such

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cases, there is clear recognition that the process of SDG alignment should extend equally to the plans and policies of LRGs as to national government.

However, a considerable number of countries show no reported evidence of LRGs being directly engaged in national SDG mapping or alignment processes.

The GTF’s 2017,13 201814 and 201915 reports to the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), ‘Towards the Localization of the SDGs’ examine the extent to which local governments have been consulted in the preparation of VNRs and how far their work is reflected in final submissions. They identify key policy issues, drawing on a wide range of country and city-specific examples. According to the 2019 report, 23 countries in Europe (63% of 37 European countries that reported) involved prior consultation with local governments for the drafting of the VNR (compared with 44% at the global level) (see Section 3.1).

A similar analysis by CEMR (the Council of European Municipalities and Regions) and PLATFORMA (European Platform of Local and Regional Authorities for Development)16 shows that LGAs’ participation in the drafting of the European VNRs is increasing (from 50% in the 2016-2018 period to 60% in 2019), mostly through various forms of multi-stakeholder consultations. However, LGAs are still found to be ‘generally passive’ and contribute only indirectly to the VNR content.17 This is also the case with LGAs’ participation in the national coordination mechanisms mentioned above (in 20 out of 39 countries).

The degree to which local governments are consulted and involved in a country’s SDG system and implementation is partly a function of their political relationship with central government and the extent of decentralization. However, it is also driven often by how much a LGA is proactive in its engagement in the VNR process and the extent to which local political leadership is committed to SDG implementation.

In the case of Spain, the partnership with LRGs is underlined in its 2018 VNR, with a section detailing the localization of SDGs in each region and at local government level, with particular focus on the role of the Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP). The Latvian Association of Local and Regional Governments (LALRG) was proactively engaged in the preparation of the country’s 2018 VNR. LALRG was represented (its Secretary-General) on a working group of the national SDG Cross-Sectoral Coordinating Centre (CSCC). This meant it was able to submit draft sections of the regional report with reference to the role of local government. Latvia’s VNR has a separate section on local government, which notes that all local governments have sustainable development strategies and which

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According to the GTF's 2019 report, 23 countries in Europe (63% of 37 European countries that reported) involved prior consultation with local governments for the drafting of the VNR.

acknowledges the work of LALRG.18 Likewise, the 2017 VNR of the Netherlands documents the work of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG) in SDG localization.19 Serbia’s 2019 VNR emphasizes the role of the country’s LGA – the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM) – in the creation of the local communityled hub. The 2019 VNR of Iceland cites SDG implementation as ‘a joint project of the state and municipalities, as they have an important role for successful implementation of the SDGs.’ Both Iceland’s and Serbia’s VNRs dedicate specific sections or spaces to explaining the role of LRGs, likewise the United Kingdom and Bosnia and Herzegovina VNRs give particular emphasis to the localization process.20 Other VNRs that make explicit reference to LRGs are the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland.

While in some countries, LRGs and their LGAs are taking the lead to support the implementation of the SDGs at sub-national level, in others, they lack the financial resources and support to ensure effective localization. This is exacerbated by the reforms and cuts in local budgets since the 20082009 global crisis that affected many LRGs (see Sections 2.2 and 3.1).

Thus, the importance of building local government capacity is highlighted in various VNR reports. For example, Montenegro has underlined that public sector capacities, especially of local governments, needs to be significantly increased.

Moreover, Serbia has in its 2019 VNR highlighted the need for international financing support.

Greater support and joint efforts between national and sub-national governments (SNGs) to undertake SDG-related work, such as SDG awareness-raising among members or promotion of SDG alignment, are urgently required.21

23

2.2 Current situation of local and regional governments in Europe Decentralization trends: policies and reforms

Figure 1

Local Autonomy Index (LAI) 2014 country rankings Switzerland

79.6

Finland

79.4

Iceland

78.1

Sweden

75.1

Denmark

74.7

Poland

74.1

Germany

73.9

Norway

73.9

Italy

68.2

Serbia

67.0

France

66.8

Bulgaria

66.2

Lithuania

65.1

Czech Republic

64.9

Austria

64.8

Estonia

63.7

Portugal

61.6

Belgium

61.3

Slovakia

60.9

Netherlands

59.6

Northern Macedonia

59.3

Romania

58.1

Croatia

56.7

Luxembourg

55.9

Spain

55.0

Latvia

54.2

Hungary

50.8

Albania

50.6

Slovenia

48.9

Greece

47.9

United Kingdom

45.7

Cyprus Malta Georgia Moldova Ireland

42.3 39.2 38.4 35.9 34.9

Sources: Extracted from OECD (2019), 'Making Decentralisation Work: A Handbook for Policy-Makers', OECD Multi-level Governance Studies, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/g2g9faa7-en.

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In the past decade, LRGs in several countries in Europe have increasingly put pressure on national government to make important changes in local governance. The reforms, decentralization trends and associated policies that have followed have been analysed in a number of academic studies, as well as by international organizations such as the EU and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).22 In federal or quasi-federal European states (Austria, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Switzerland), reforms have mainly aimed to improve distribution of responsibilities between different levels of government, improve intergovernmental fiscal relations, and strengthen internal stability pacts, altering equalization mechanisms and enhancing policy coordination. In unitary states, public sector reforms have sought to strengthen decentralization and improve multilevel governance systems (the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, France, United Kingdom), improve economies of scale and efficiency (France), and improve public management (Ireland). Furthermore, after the global crisis, many reforms were linked to austerity measures, spending control and rationalization.23 In general, in federal and quasi-federal countries (Spain), LRGs enjoy wider functions and responsibilities, particularly at regional or state levels, and have higher levels of sub-national expenditures and revenues as a percentage of gross national product (GDP) than unitary countries, but wide variations exist throughout Europe, according to the extent of decentralization.

In federal countries, LRG expenditures account for 21.5% of total public spending compared with 9.7% in unitary countries. However, in some unitary countries such as Denmark, Finland and Sweden, LRGs represent a larger part of public spending (27.4%) (see Figure 3).24 The Local Autonomy Index (LAI) for Europe, is a measurement developed by academia to try to analyse the extent of sub-national functions and responsibilities. The LAI combines measures on (1) legal autonomy, (2) policy scope (range of functions/tasks in service delivery), (3) political discretion (decision-making power in fulfilling tasks), (4) financial autonomy, (5) organizational/ administrative autonomy, (6) non-interference (related to vertical relations with higher levels of government ), and (7) access to influencing higher-level decisions (see Figure 1).25

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The Regional Authority Index (RAI) is another measure designed to track the evolution of administrative regions and intermediary governments in more than 81 countries, including 38 European countries.26 According to the OECD, ‘the Regional Authority Index and the Local Autonomy Index also show an increase in the degree of authority of municipalities and regions over the past decades’, although trends in recent years have been more varied.27 The different measures and studies show four Nordic countries — Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden — as being in the top ten countries in Europe, along with Switzerland, Poland and Germany, and followed by Italy, France, Norway and Austria; the LAI adds Serbia to this list.28 According to the LAI, as summarized by the OECD,29 in France there is high local autonomy with the exception of features of the local political system and administrative organization.

In Switzerland, municipalities are autonomous in their financial and organizational affairs and enjoy legal protection, but they are to a lesser extent able to decide on their own policies, due to their smaller size and the more discretionary powers of cantons. The much larger German municipalities — despite Germany’s federalist structure — are more autonomous with respect to policy scope and political discretion. In Spain, decentralization is advanced at the regional level, but more restricted at municipal level. In the United Kingdom, financial autonomy is limited while organizational autonomy is not. Ireland, finally, shows very low levels of autonomy in virtually all dimensions.

Apart from Poland, which has made progress towards decentralization, most EU Member States in Central and Eastern Europe are still in a process of further decentralization. Countries tend to have high legal and to some extent organizational/administrative autonomy, but less autonomy in other areas (e.g. Bulgaria, Romania, Estonia, Czech Republic, Slovenia).30 Hungary is the one major exception with recentralization of powers back to central government, and with the share of sub-national expenditure decreasing by 5% in the past 20 years. In Hungary, education, healthcare and some social services have also been recentralized, especially after 2012 (and the institution of Cardinal Law). Transfers are now mostly earmarked, having changed from an income-based system to a task-based system.31 Although local self-government is enshrined in most of their constitutions, decentralization is in its very early stages in non-EU Member States in the Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia), with the exception of Croatia, where resources are more decentralized (particularly at county level). In some countries such as Moldova and Serbia, reform processes have recently stalled and in others, such as Bosnia-Herzegovina and

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Montenegro, there are serious ongoing problems because of political and ethnic divisions.32 The reforms implemented during the past decade have had an impact on the responsibilities and capacities of LRGs, albeit to different degrees, in the whole region, but most pronounced in the countries of the South of Europe — most affected by the global 2008-2009 crisis. Because of budgetary restrictions in Greece and Portugal, the oversight of local government finances was reinforced, salaries and staff recruitment frozen, and the sub-national territorial organization revised. In Greece the 2010 Kallikratis Reform created 13 fully self-governing regions with new responsibilities in the area of regional planning and development, including structural funds (transferred from the prefectures) and merged municipalities. In Spain, several laws have increased the control on budgets and limited the indebtedness of local governments, reducing their competences (particularly for the smaller municipalities) and restricting remunerations of all civil servants including at sub-national level.

In Italy, the measures adopted in 2012 and 2013 imposed budgetary and spending restrictions as well as territorial reorganization, impacting local autonomy.

Laerdal, Norway (photo: © Andrea Ciambra).

25

As well as the South of Europe, France’s multifaceted local government reform in 2010 included several measures, such as the reform of the local taxation system (reduction of local taxing power) and equalization mechanisms; a streamlining of inter-municipal cooperation; and the creation of a new status of metropole.

Important parts of the 2010 legislation were later revoked and the 2013-2015 Act III of Decentralization resulted in new territorial and decentralization reforms, including the law on metropoles (2014), regional mergers (2014) and the NOTRe law (2015). The latter modifies the allocation of responsibilities across different SNG levels, strengthening the responsibilities of regions (on economic development, territorial planning, environment protection, vocational training).

In Germany, meanwhile, the number of municipalities decreased and financial controls were put in place in several Länder, but responsibilities increased, inter-municipal cooperation (Gemeindeverband and Zweckverbände) was facilitated, and privatization and externalization of public services were developed to reduce expenditures. Today however, municipalities are trying to regain control of public services (re-municipalization of water and other basic services). The Netherlands moreover imposed some budget and transfers restrictions on the sub-national level, with new devolution of responsibilities (e.g. youth health, long-term care, etc.) accompanied by a historical merger process, and compelled local governments to rationalize and develop new modalities for services delivery (e.g. implementation of Service Charters).

In Finland, the regionalization process launched in 2013 was interrupted in 2019. National governments also set minimum standards for the provision of local services. In Norway, this was done under the KOSTRA performance measurement system.

Reference should also be made to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe,33 which is responsible for monitoring the application of the European Charter of Local Self-Government34 adopted in 1985 and ratified by all 47 Member States of the Council. The Charter has at its core the principle of subsidiarity and its five-yearly monitoring reports provide a useful insight into decentralization throughout

Recent territorial reforms have resulted in amalgamations of both municipalities and regions and in some cases their outright abolition.

26

Europe. The reforms experienced during the last reporting period have had a varied impact on local autonomy: ‘In a majority of countries, the perception of some loss of autonomy was due more to the reduction of resources than to institutional restrictions.’ However, this is not a small issue (see Financing local development, below).35

National territorial organization: structure of sub-national governments As already mentioned, the reforms also had an impact on the territorial organization in Europe.

In the early 1990s, the 28 EU Member States alone had approximately 97,500 municipalities, which fell to around 87,182 in 2017-2018. A huge variation in average population per municipality remains however, ranging from 168,000 in the United Kingdom and 151,000 in Ireland (since the 2014 local government reform) to only 1,700 in the Czech Republic, 1,850 in the Slovak Republic and 1,890 in France in 2017-2018.36 There are another 5,056 municipalities in non-EU Member States, thus the total number of local governments across the continent is still close to 100,000.37 In addition, there are intermediate level local governments (e.g. departments in France, provinces in Belgium and Spain), metropolitan bodies areas and regions, which add significantly to the total numbers of LRGs in Europe.

Recent territorial reforms have resulted in amalgamations of both municipalities and regions and in some cases their outright abolition. Ireland saw particularly dramatic changes in 2014, resulting in 114 councils being reorganized into 31 local governments and the abolition of the previous eight regional authorities. In Estonia in 2017, the number of municipalities was reduced from 213 to 79 (14 urban and 65 rural). However, in most instances, changes have been more gradual, including in many of the non-EU Balkan States. For example, Moldova (population 3.46 million) still has 1,679 local authorities (villages, communes, cities and municipalities) and 35 regions (districts).

Overall, there has been relatively little change in the distinction between federal, unitary and quasifederal states in Europe in the past ten years (see Table 2).

The complexity of structures has increased in the past ten years, with sometimes overlapping functions between the different levels of government, driven by ambitious reform programmes. Such territorial organization reforms are often triggered by political, demographic and socio-economic changes. These include growth in services, transport or new ICT requirements, considerations around the need for local management, and financial considerations around sharing services to effect economies of scale due to shrinking revenues.

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Table 2 Types

and numbers of sub-national government (2017-2018)

Federal or quasi-federal States

Municipal

Austria

2,098

Belgium

589

Bosnia and Herzegovina

145

Intermediate

Regional/state

Total

9

2,107

6

605

10

155

10

Germany

11,054

401

16

11,471

Spain

8,124

50

17

8,191

Switzerland

2,222

26

2,248

Albania

61

12

73

Bulgaria

264

Croatia

555

Cyprus

380

Unitary states

Czech Rep.

264 21

576 380

6,258

14

6,272

Denmark

98

5

103

Estonia

79

Finland

311

France

35,357

Greece Hungary

79 1

312

18

35,476

325

13

338

3,178

19

3,197

101

Iceland

74

74

Ireland

31

31

Italy

7,960

20

7,980

Latvia

119

119

Lithuania

60

60

Luxembourg

102

102

Malta

68

68

Moldova

1,697

Montenegro

68

Netherlands

390

N. Macedonia

23

Norway

422

Poland

2,478

35

1,732 68

12

392 23

380

18

422

16

2,874

Portugal

308

2

310

Romania

3,181

41

3,222

174

2

176

Slovakia

2,930

8

2,938

Slovenia

212

Sweden

290

United Kingdom

391

Serbia

212

27

21

311

3

421

Sources: OECD, ‘Making Decentralisation Work’. Annex B, p.161; CCRE, CEMR, ‘About Members’; OECD-UCLG, SNG-WOFI.

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27

Functions and responsibilities: core competences as defined by law The impact of territorial reforms can be complex, involving changes of powers at different subnational levels, as has been seen in the regions, e.g. in Norway. In many cases, reforms are directly linked to significant decentralization, intended to be politically attractive and to result in stronger, more empowered local government. In Iceland in 2011, municipalities gained new responsibilities for service provision and support for disabled people; in Ireland in 2014, local authorities were given an expanded role in economic development (but water was recentralized), and in the Netherlands, reforms that took effect in 2015 involved new municipal responsibilities for social care. Under the 2014-17 reforms in Norway, additional competences in secondary education and transport were transferred to municipalities from the counties and central government.38 In Belgium, the 6th State Reform (2014) transferred additional responsibilities to regions (labour market policies, mobility and justice), and municipalities (family allowance, long-term care, health). In Italy, reforms introduced in 2014 resulted in ten metropolitan cities taking over competences of the former provinces with additional powers for local police, roads, transport, and spatial and

urban planning, and the metropolitan city mayor directly elected. In Czech Republic, in 2015, some municipal responsibilities were reallocated from small municipalities to larger municipalities (to overcome municipal fragmentation), and to the central government in the social reform framework.

Statistics regarding sub-national expenditure by sector or function are compiled by the Classification of the Functions of Government (COFOG), which has ten main categories.39 These give some indication of core roles and responsibilities of European LRGs in relation to central government. They relate to education, economic affairs and transport; social protection; health; housing and community amenities; recreation, culture and religion; general public services; security and public order; defence and environmental protection. Each category also has sub-functions. Figure 2 gives a breakdown of the different areas as a percentage of GDP and of total general government expenditure (GG).

As shown in Figure 2, SNG spending responsibilities (as a percentage of GDP) are more significant in education, social protection, health, general public services and economic affairs (including transport). However, LRGs represent a substantial part of GG expenditures in housing and

Figure 2

Sub-national government expenditures of European countries (34) by sector/function as % of GDP and of general government expenditure (GG) (COFOG, 2016) 2.7 2.6

64.7 55.6 1.7

46.9

1.7

% of GDP

% of GG expenditure

51.6

1.3 27.1 23.0 18.8

0.6

15.7 0.3 0

Public services

% of GDP

0.4

0.4

Environment

Housing

11.4

0.4

Defence

Public order

Economic

Health

Recreation

Education

Social protection

% of GG

Source: Authors’ calculation based on unweighted averages in 34 countries. OECD/UCLG (2019), World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investments, http://www.sng-wofi.org/data/.

28

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amenities, environmental protection, recreation, culture and religion, and education. The spending contributions to GG of the state/regional level are often greatest in areas such as housing, education, recreation/culture, environment, public order, economic development and health while local governments’ contribution is higher for housing, environment, recreation/culture and education.

There is significant variation by country: in countries where the extent of decentralization is low, local government functions tend to be more restricted to sectors such as general public services, recreation and culture, and, to a lesser extent, economic affairs, transport and housing, and community amenities.

In recent years, municipalities in Denmark have received new competences over social welfare and education while the regions have obtained more responsibilities for healthcare, regional development and environment. However, since 1 January 2019, the regions have seen their role reduced in the implementation of structural funds programmes (the European Regional Development Fund – ERDF and the European Social Fund – ESF) and in business development.

In the United Kingdom (and England in particular), the 2011 Localism Act, City Deals and the 2016 Devolution Deals gave powers to combined authorities on housing, transport, planning and policing, and allowed for the introduction of directly elected mayors. At the same time, the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments received enhanced powers, including new fiscal powers in the case of the former. In France, reforms since 2010 have been gradual, addressing metropolitan governance, reform of regional boundaries, subnational responsibilities and inter-municipal cooperation; greater powers are also envisaged for the French regions.

Much decentralization is of an ‘asymmetric’ nature where the same SNGs have different political, administrative or fiscal powers. Among federal states, Spain and Belgium are highly asymmetric, whereas Austria, Germany and Switzerland show more symmetry. Among unitary states, Italy and the United Kingdom are notable in their asymmetry.40 Likewise, most non-EU Member States in the Balkans display asymmetrical functions and responsibilities.41 Metropolitan and urban governments in general have responsibilities on economic policy, including ‘industrial promotion, environmental planning, refuse collection, public transport, regional spatial planning, regional economic development, recreation, regional parks, tourist promotion, traffic planning and regulation, and water supply.’42 Finally, LRGs have taken on an increasingly significant role in international development cooperation, notably through ‘decentralized cooperation’. There has been growing legal

GOLD V REGIONAL REPORT —— EUROPE

and other formal recognition of this at both the national and the EU level. Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Spain and Sweden all have legal provision to allow decentralized cooperation activities; meanwhile several other countries such as Austria, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and many Central and Eastern European countries also facilitate such activities in less formal ways.43

Financing local development: fiscal decentralization The impact of the 2008-2009 global economic crisis and its aftermath, with the imposition of fiscal austerity measures in many countries, led to a reduction in the overall percentage of LRGs’ share of GDP and of total public expenditure.

EU data shows an overall decline in Member States’ local government expenditure relative to GDP (down from approximately 13.94% in 2009 to approximately 10.8% in 2016), and relative to GG (down from approximately 27.3% in 2009 to approximately 23.3% in 2016). Needless to say, these indicators also relate to the extent of fiscal decentralization.44 Over a longer period, 1995-2016, the subnational share of public expenditure increased in Spain, Sweden, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Poland and Finland (over 5%); there were also smaller increases in Italy, Slovenia, Latvia, Slovak Republic, Austria, France, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Portugal and Greece. Conversely, there were decreases in Lithuania, Iceland, Estonia, Norway, the Netherlands and particularly in Hungary and Ireland. It is reasonable to assume that the long-term trend towards greater fiscal autonomy is likely to continue in Europe, assuming there are no further major global economic shocks, especially since fiscal decentralization is still at an early stage, notably in the Balkan countries and elsewhere.45 The decrease in financial resources has had consequences for staff expenditures (and a reduction thereof) in three out of four European countries. As already mentioned, trends are accompanied by major service reorganization, notably in Spain, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Bulgaria and Greece. The rules of budgetary discipline can also affect local elected officials, as was the case, for example, in Spain, where remuneration of elected representatives has been limited. In the Netherlands and Ireland, reforms have reduced the number of elected officials in order to save money.

Another fiscal indicator that is often used relates to the SNG percentage of general government revenue (see Figure 3). In general, the ratios for revenues are very close to those of expenditures. In the majority of countries, taxes (both shared and own-source taxes) are

29

Figure 3

SNG expenditures and revenues on GDP and on GG by country SNG expenditures and revenues on GDP 4.6 4.7

Albania

18.0 17.6 25.6 26.7

Croatia

Cyprus 10.2 11.2

Czech Republic

34.8 34.8 9.4 9.5

Finland 11.2 11.3

Germany

12.5 12.6

27.6 21.7 8.0 8.3 29.0 30.9 25.6 26.1

Latvia

7.8 8.3

22.9 24.2

Lithuania

4.9 5.2

11.7 11.9

Luxembourg

0.4 0.4

Malta

1.0 1.0

Moldova

8.4 8.9 5.6 6.3

Montenegro 13.8 13.9

23.3 26.2 10.3 11.6 31.7 31.6

Netherlands

4.9 4.9

15.6 17.1

N. Macedonia 16.9 16.4

Norway

Portugal 9.0 9.2

Serbia

8.2 8.4

Slovenia

6.6 7.1

Slovak Republic 20.8 20.6

Spain

21.1 21.2

Switzerland

SNG expenditure % of GDP

26.1 29.0 16.7 17.4 18.1 19.3 15.8 18.1 49.2

Spain 25.0 24.5

Sweden

Average Europe

12.6 14.2

Romania

7.3 7.5

United Kingdom

31.4 33.9

Poland

5.6 6.1

Romania

33.2 30.0

Norway

12.9 13.1

Poland

Slovak Republic

12.9 14.1

Italy

9.5 9.7

Netherlands

Slovenia

7.1 7.6

Ireland 14.3 14.5

Moldova

Serbia

48.3 47.9

Iceland

2.2 2.2

Lithuania

Portugal

7.1 7.6

Hungary

Latvia

N. Macedonia

40.4 40.9

Finland

Greece 6.0 6.3

Italy

Montenegro

23.1 23.6

Germany

3.5 3.8

Iceland

Malta

65.0 66.1

Denmark

France 21.3 21.6

Luxembourg

25.8 27.8

Estonia 22.6 22.2

France

3.7 3.7

Czech Republic

Denmark Estonia

24.7 25.2

Croatia

1.4 1.5

Ireland

20.4 19.6

Bulgaria 11.7 11.7

Hungary

10.8 10.9

Bosnia and Herzegovina 6.8 6.9

Greece

49.8 52.6

Belgium

4.5 4.7

Bulgaria

35.6 35.9

Austria

Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina

15.9 17.7

Albania

Austria

Cyprus

SNG expenditures and revenues on GG

10.0 9.7

Average Europe

SNG revenues % of GDP

61.4 61.0

Switzerland United Kingdom

11.2 11.4

54.5

50.6 48.4

Sweden

SNG expenditure % of GG

24.2 22.2 25.6 26.4

SNG revenues % of GG

Source: OECD/UCLG (2019), World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investment (data 2016): http://www.sng-wofi.org/data/.

30

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the prime source of revenue, followed by grants and subsidies and local public service charges.

Nevertheless, the share of own revenue sources in sub-national revenue varies considerably and is close to 70% (or more) in Iceland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Switzerland, Germany, Latvia, Finland, France, Sweden and Portugal. In Norway, Italy, Croatia, Ireland, Spain and Hungary, own sources represent around 50% of sub-national budgets, but this falls below 30% in Moldova, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Austria, Slovak Republic, Kosovo, Albania, Romania, Estonia and Lithuania.

Meanwhile Belgium, Poland, Denmark, Greece and United Kingdom are between 30% and 40%. This means the last groups of countries rely principally on transfers, grants and subventions from central governments due to important vertical imbalances in local budgets.46 Share of tax revenues however does not provide a truly accurate picture of local fiscal autonomy, since this depends on many other factors such as the right to set or abolish taxes or define the tax base. All the more, because tax revenues encompass shared taxes and own-source taxes.47 A more accurate picture of fiscal decentralization is given by the OECD’s tax autonomy indicators, which show that tax autonomy increased in Finland, Portugal and Italy in 1995-2011, and meanwhile decreased in Denmark and France. Examples of important reforms include the Belgian fiscal reforms which reinforced regional tax autonomy allowing regions to raise additional income tax and gain other tax powers (‘regionalization’ of the PIT). Likewise, in Spain after 2011, the financial autonomy of the regions was enhanced and their part in shared taxes increased from 33% to 50%.

Aggregate national data can moreover hide important variations. In some cases, there were countervailing trends and complex fiscal arrangements, which often distort the actual extent of fiscal decentralization. The United Kingdom (England) significantly reduced centrallocal government fiscal transfers because of austerity measures since the 2008-2009 global crisis which mean many local governments — and especially larger cities — have seen dramatic decreases in their local revenues. This in turn has impacted on their ability to deliver essential services effectively, an issue picked up in a 2014 Council of Europe monitoring report.48 Furthermore, the sub-national level is an important investor, underlining the role of LRGs in finding the necessary funding for the SDGs. Table 3 shows the role played by local and state government as public investors, with the highest percentages achieved in federal states such as Belgium, Switzerland, Spain and Germany, as well as in some unitary states such as France, Finland, Italy, Portugal and Sweden (over 50% of total public investment). If we only look at local

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government, Belgium, France, Finland, Italy and Sweden achieved 50% of total investment.

As highlighted in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, it is desirable for local governments to be able to access external financing through borrowing, including credit and access to the financial markets (bonds). Legislative provision for this varies in different countries. Sub-national consolidated financial debt as a percentage of total public debt provides a useful indicator for the relative significance of the sub-national sector and therefore potentially for fiscal decentralization (according to the 2016 OECD data, the average sub-national government debt as a percentage of national debt in the EU is 14.4%, but ranges from 42.4% in Norway to 0.6% in Greece). Local governments in some countries have been able to improve access to external funding on financial markets and share common mechanisms; this has often been because of the initiative of national LGAs. This has happened in France and the UK, for instance, based on the successful municipal agencies model prevailing in the Nordic countries. In France, the Agence France Locale was created in 2013 and is wholly owned by French local authorities. Its mandate is to raise cost-efficient resources by pooling the funding needs of all local authority members and to provide alternative funding with a target of achieving 25% of market share.49

Ribbon-cutting ceremony at a new school in Jacou, Languedoc-Roussillon, France (photo: Isabelle Blanchemain, bit.ly/2OxxUNv).

31

Figure 4

SNG direct investment as % of total public investment Belgium Switzerland Spain Germany France Finland Italy Portugal Sweden Romania Netherlands Moldova Norway Austria Denmark Czech Republic Average Europe Slovenia Bulgaria Poland Iceland Luxembourg United Kingdom Croatia Northern Macedonia Lithuania Serbia Latvia Hungary Bosnia and Herzegovina Albania Estonia Greece Slovak Republic Ireland Cyprus Malta 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Source: OECD/UCLG (2019), World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investment (data 2016): http://www.sng-wofi.org/data/.

32

80

90

100

From the data available, it appears that the 2008-2009 global economic crisis and the ensuing Eurozone crisis, accompanied by austerity policies in many countries, have halted or even reversed current and planned reforms in some instances. In others in contrast, according to the OECD, the crisis actually served as an impetus to accelerate fiscal reforms (e.g. Czech Republic, Estonia), and to seek optimization of revenues from property taxes, through new local taxes or revaluation of existing taxes (e.g. in Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, France). In general, the 2008-2009 crisis led to a general tightening of fiscal rules at all levels of government relating to budget balances, spending and borrowing constraints. In the Netherlands, local governments have since 2013 had to transfer excess liquidity to the central government Treasury. Denmark in 2012 legally introduced a multi-annual expenditure ceiling at all levels of government. Similar legal fiscal restrictions have been enacted in Estonia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, France, Finland and elsewhere.50 Since the crisis, particular efforts have been made to reinforce intergovernmental fiscal coordination in macro-economic management through cooperation agreements, internal stability pacts and ‘fiscal councils’ with the aim of promoting sustainable public finances and fiscal discipline (in Austria, Belgium Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain).51 As already indicated, municipal mergers have been seen as a way to effect cost savings, and financial and other incentives to encourage mergers are frequently offered by central government, e.g. merger grants in the Netherlands, Estonia, Italy and Finland. Other non-fiscal incentives include giving special status to larger cities or permitting former administrative structures to be kept at the sub-municipal level (e.g. in UK, Greece, France).

Overall, European states and sub-national and local authorities are therefore facing significant budget restrictions, which may affect the implementation of the SDGs. As a result, most LRGs are under significant financial pressure. They must develop and implement new policies related to climate change, migration or social change while facing a decline in own tax revenues, reductions in financial transfers from central government and fluctuating borrowing conditions. They are also impacted by the new financial rules of the EU, introduced to deal with the financial crisis.

This is the case with the ‘economic governance’ package, the budget surveillance package and the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance, which all limit opportunities for LRGs to make the necessary investments to build infrastructure and prepare for a sustainable future.

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2.3 Cooperative multilevel governance partnerships

Partnerships at EU level A cooperative multilevel governance partnership approach involves active collaboration between central, local and state/regional government.

Multilevel governance in the EU was first presented in the White Paper of the European Commission in 2001,52 and further discussed at the European level. In 2009, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR)53 adopted its own White Paper on Multilevel Governance as: ‘coordinated institutional action by the European Union, the Member States and local and regional authorities, based on partnership and aimed at drawing up and implementing EU policies.’

Underlying this concept is the principle of subsidiarity, which places decisions at the most effective level and as close as possible to the citizens, and is enshrined by EU law under the Lisbon Treaty.54 In 2011, the Presidents of CEMR, the Assembly of European Regions (AER), the Conference of Peripheral and Maritime Regions (CPMR) and Eurocities55 — the relevant European organizations representing regions, cities and municipalities in Europe — adopted a declaration, ‘Governing in Partnership — United to Build a Stronger Europe’. This was in light of the negotiations of the future of the cohesion policy at that time for the period 2014 – 2020.

Its objective was to promote an approach that involves all relevant actors in cohesion policy via vertical and horizontal cooperation.56 Reports and studies, including those carried out by CEMR’s own member associations, have shown that municipal statutory functions in the Member States of the EU are affected by EU legislation by as much as 75%. LRGs have been represented in Brussels since 1970 via the Council of Municipalities and Regions and, since 1994, via the aforementioned CoR, which was established with the Treaty of Maastricht as a formal consultative body to the European Parliament, the Council or the Commission.57 Following the treaties and institutional practices, several formal procedures give recognition

GOLD V REGIONAL REPORT —— EUROPE

to multilevel governance in EU policy and practices, particularly under the EU’s Cohesion Policy, established in 2006, since when the EU has engaged closely with the sub-national government level and provided significant financial and other support including to the new Member States of Central and Eastern Europe.

Provisions for partnership with LRGs through EU structural and investment funds — the Partnership Principle58 — were strengthened in 2013, obliging Member States to organize a partnership at all stages of programming and at all levels, the importance of which was highlighted in the 2014 Van den Brande Report.59 In 2014, the CoR adopted a Charter for Multilevel Governance in Europe. This committed to the principles of transparent, open and inclusive policy-making, participation and partnership, policy efficiency, policy coherence and budget synergies, subsidiarity and proportionality, and fundamental rights protection at all levels of governance.60 The Charter also deals with implementation and delivery of multilevel governance through citizens’ participation, cooperation among public authorities, institutional capacity-building, creation of networks and fostering a European mindset.

Following the 2016 European Commission (EC) Communication on the Next Steps for a Sustainable European Future,61 a European multistakeholder platform on the SDGs with a subgroup on delivering SDGs at local and regional

A European multi-stakeholder platform on the SDGs has been established, with a sub-group on delivering the SDGs at local and regional level including CEMR, Eurocities and other stakeholders.

33

UCLG Executive Bureau in Strasbourg, hosted at the European Parliament (photo: UCLG-CGLU, bit.ly/2AULQJg).

level has been established.62 The sub-group includes CEMR, Eurocities, the CoR and other stakeholders. It has prepared recommendations, which were largely integrated in the final report of the platform to the EC.63 The GOLD V report advocates for a territorial approach and a ‘two ways dialogue’ that associate LRGs and civil society at all levels in the implementation of the SDGs in the EU, including in respect of the policies of the EC. Both the EC Reflection Paper on a sustainable Europe by 2030 (2018),64 and the EC Communication on subsidiarity and proportionality, take these views into account and note the importance of ensuring policy cohesion at all levels of government in the EU, as well as the need to respect the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality.65 The European Parliament has also underlined the importance of a joined-up, multilevel governance approach to SDG implementation, including respect for the principle of subsidiarity and recognition of the role of LRGs.66 Furthermore, it has highlighted the role of LRGs in the institutional framework of the EU, and recognizes their important role ‘at all stages of the SDGs’ implementation, from planning and programming to evaluation and monitoring’, calling on the EC to enhance support to LRGs.67 Eurostat has since 2017 published an annual report on ‘Sustainable Development in the EU’.68

34

This seeks to provide a detailed assessment on how the EU is performing in implementing the 17 SDGs, deploying 100 indicators, of which some 55 align to SDG indicators. It does not however provide a breakdown of data at sub-national level.

Nevertheless, a recent study by the European Economic and Social Committee takes the view that the annual Eurostat report does not adequately address the ‘distance to targets’ of EU Member States to achieve the SDGs. It says this could be done by using measures such as the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)/Bertelsmann SDG Index and Dashboard.

It also proposes a shadow report produced in collaboration with the European multi-stakeholder platform on the SDGs, which could also offer a means to address sub-national data gaps.69 An innovative approach to multilevel governance was also adopted for the implementation of the Urban Agenda for the EU (see multilevel urban governance below), whereby the European Commission’s relevant Directorate-Generals (DGs), Member States, individual cities and representative associations gather in thematic partnerships to exchange and implement actions on very specific issues of urban development, working around three pillars: better regulation, better knowledge and better funding.70

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Partnerships at national level

Austria, Spain, Germany, Portugal and Italy.

Other forms of multilevel coordination include standing commissions and intergovernmental consultation boards. These relate to a wide range of areas such as environment, infrastructure, transport, technology and development.73 It is perhaps no surprise that this type of cooperative multilevel governance is especially well-developed in countries showing a high degree of decentralization, and it can serve as a model for countries seeking to implement successful decentralization. In Norway, four consultative meetings are held each year to ensure coordination of regulatory proposals affecting local governments. These bring together key central government ministries and representatives of the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS). Similar meetings address issues pertaining to counties and municipalities. The KS and local government also receive for comment those government draft regulations deemed of special significance for local government. Furthermore, there is a continuous informal dialogue between central and local government on political as well as technical and professional issues.74 There is little evidence of such cooperative multilevel governance or intergovernmental mechanisms in non-EU Member States of the Balkans and some like Moldova remain strongly centralized in their governance structure despite

Even in federal states and strongly decentralized countries, responsibilities for specific government services are shared between central and subnational government, underlining the essential nature of cooperative multilevel governance and partnership-working in modern economies (see Table 3) and OECD Recommendations on effective public investment across levels of government in 2014.

Coordination mechanisms are well developed in federal countries and some regionalized states, e.g. the conference of Minister-Presidents in Germany, or the Conference of Presidents in Spain. Other examples of cooperative multilevel coordination include the long-standing Austrian Conference of Spatial Planning (OROK). Similar structures for dialogue between central and local/ regional government exist in Italy and the Nordic countries, and are often chaired at the most senior level by the Prime Minister and attended by national ministers and top representatives of all LRG levels, including from the respective national LGAs.71 There are some interesting recent examples of bringing together various multilevel functions as shown at the Council for Territorial Dialogue in Portugal, set up in 2015.72 Since 2008, fiscal councils and internal stability pacts have also been deployed as mechanisms to strengthen multilevel fiscal coordination in macro-economic management in Belgium,

Shared responsibilities across levels of government – proportion of decisions involving more than one level of government Table 3

Country

Education %

Long-term care %

Transport services %

Social housing %

Healthcare %

59

42

16

23

39

35

82

45

20

Belgium Germany Italy

11

58

44

59

29

Switzerland

28

21

54

48

65

Spain

21

68

76

93

19

Luxembourg

6

38

13

28

32

Denmark

23

11

33

25

67

Latvia

19

36

42

15

16

Netherlands

0

60

45

40

26

Norway

37

35

37

31

26

Finland

31

31

42

22

44

Poland

43

44

61

48

41

Estonia

38

58

51

78

20

Source: OECD, ‘Making Decentralisation Work’. p.82.

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35

various attempts at decentralization since 2012.

However, many of these countries have now established national LGAs and these should provide a means to initiate intergovernmental dialogue with their central government in future, ultimately leading to the kind of multilevel governance mechanisms and partnerships in existence elsewhere in Europe.

The SDGs are also creating opportunities to develop new high-level coordination mechanisms to ensure the implementation and follow-up of the SDGs, which in many countries adopted a multilevel and multi-stakeholder approach, including SNGs with different roles (full members, advisor or consultative levels) (see Sub-section 3.1).

Multilevel urban governance Given the degree of urbanization in Europe, there has also been significant attention given to the concept of multilevel urban governance. The Belgian Presidency of the EU in 2010 published a handbook for multilevel urban governance in Europe,75 and, following the adoption of the Riga Declaration by the ministers responsible for urban matters in 2015, the Urban Agenda for the EU (Pact of Amsterdam)76 was adopted in 2016.

This sets out a new approach for the EU and Member States to address urban development, in particular to apply an integrated and sustainable urban development approach, in direct partnership with cities. The Pact of Amsterdam is also following the adoption of the 2030 Agenda and therefore commits to the implementation of the SDGs (especially SDG 11 on cities and human settlements), the Paris Climate Agreement and the New Urban Agenda.

Some countries have developed national urban policies (NUPs) as a lever to better coordinate and ensure more policy coherence: France has for a long time had its Policy of the City (Politique de la ville), embodied in city contracts and agglomeration, contractual approaches that have followeda decade of failure of the city policy decided at the central level. Belgium has had the Federal Big City Policy (Politique des grandes villes) since 1999, complemented by regional urban policies (also implemented through city contracts). Switzerland adopted the Federal

The Urban Agenda for the EU sets out a new approach for the EU and Member States to apply an integrated and sustainable urban development approach, in direct partnership with cities.

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Agglomeration Policy in 2001 and revised it in 2016 in cooperation with SNGs. Germany has had an NUP since 2017 (‘Towards a National Urban Development Policy in Germany’), with a multistakeholder approach in close collaboration with the parliament and is working now to adapt the New Urban Agenda. The Netherlands has developed a Dutch Urban Agenda to support cooperation with local governments through City Deals. Poland created an NUP in 2015 with a participatory approach. Portugal adopted in 2015 Sustainable Cities 2020. Spain developed a national strategy on urban sustainability and adopted in 2018, after a national consultation, a national strategy to implement the New Urban Agenda. Sweden adopted its Strategy for Liveable Cities in 2018. Several countries are working on the formulation of their NUPs (Slovak Republic).77 Other countries do not explicitly have an NUP, but have developed specific national urban programmes that could be considered the main elements of national urban frameworks (e.g.

Finland through its Urban Growth Agreements).

Beyond several city sectoral programmes, already mentioned, the United Kingdom adopted in 2016 the City and Local Government Devolution Act that provides a national legal framework to devolution and City Deals. Other countries developed policies on specific urban dimensions: on large urbanized areas (e.g. Italy), revitalization of urban districts, deprived areas or peripheral areas (e.g. Denmark, Italy), and framework documents to provide guidance (e.g. Czech Republic, Hungary). Finally, some countries have not put in place proper urban policies but have spatial development policies that cover different dimensions of urban policies (e.g. Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia), or the responsibility of urban development falls to local authorities that benefit from close collaboration with the national government (e.g. Norway).

Partnerships and international development cooperation There is a close link between European countries’ implementation of the SDGs domestically (and at EU level), and the pursuit of the 2030 Agenda in non-European partner countries through international development cooperation in line with SDG 17 on global partnership for sustainable development.

The last Joint Synthesis Report of the EU is devoted to Member States’ contribution to the implementation of the SDGs outside Europe.78 So for example, in Germany, the implementation of the SDGs is looked at in terms of its domestic achievement, as well as its development cooperation and the wider global context. Most European

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bilateral development cooperation agencies have integrated SDG implementation into their Official Development Assistance (ODA) and related policies. The same can be said of many other EU countries.

At the EU level, LRGs and their representative national, European and global associations, all active in decentralized cooperation, have gathered under PLATFORMA to further exchange practices, develop a common language around the SDGs with their peers in the world, and trial new approaches that can use the SDG framework as a blueprint to build their cooperation.79 Increasingly, they have been acknowledged

by EU institutions as important partners in development cooperation. Of particular importance was the formal recognition of local governments in Article 4 of the Cotonou Agreement80 in 2005. This is reinforced by a number of EU policy decisions since, such as the 2013 EC Communication on empowering local authorities in partner countries for enhanced governance and more effective development outcomes,81 and by a growing EU focus on the territorial approach to local development (TALD) policy to implement the SDGs.82 This is now leading to EU delegations to drawing up LRG ‘roadmaps’ in partner countries.

The role of LRGs and cities in the implementation of the SDGs was explicitly acknowledged in the European Consensus on Development, agreed by the EU in 2017. This places strong emphasis on multi-stakeholder partnerships and local government stating, ‘the achievement of most of the SDGs is strongly dependent on the active involvement of local and regional authorities’.83 The Consensus also mentions the commitment of the EU to support decentralization reforms and to empower LRGs. Cooperative multilevel governance is reflected in the engagement of the EC with umbrella LGAs (e.g. PLATFORMA, UCLG, UCLG Africa, the Commonwealth Local Government Forum – CLGF and the Association Internationale des Maires Francophones – AIMF) through both policy dialogue and the channelling of financial support to them via Framework Partnership Agreements, first concluded in 2015/16.84 LRGs, as well as the OECD, have emphasized the link between multilevel governance mechanisms and SDG implementation in Europe, and development cooperation undertaken by LRGs through decentralized development cooperation. The OECD takes the view that ‘cities and regions have a crucial role in attaining the SDGs’ and ‘a territorial or placebased approach to SDGs provides a conceptual and operational framework to address the multi-sectoral, multi-actor and multilevel nature of the SDGs’.85

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LRGs and their representatives have been increasingly acknowledged by EU institutions as important partners in development cooperation and crucial actors in the achievement of most of the SDGs. The majority of countries in the region have made efforts to integrate the SDGs into national strategies, create high-level coordination mechanisms and improve stakeholder participation in the process. Most countries are also engaged in developing regular reports to the UN and national level. However, there is a continuing need to better mainstream sustainability to ensure greater policy coherence.

Despite its commitments, the EU still lacks a formal implementation strategy of the 2030 Agenda, the integration of the SDGs in sectoral policies, as well as in the multi-annual financial framework, and an adequate monitoring system. Policy cohesion is at risk within Europe. Although progress has been made in the governance frameworks for SDG implementation in the region – and some countries’ efforts are particularly noteworthy the involvement of LRGs is still insufficient and needs to be strengthened, as shown in their limited participation in the reporting process and in coordination mechanisms. It is difficult to know precisely the extent to which the structures created to coordinate the 2030 Agenda and other global agreements will influence the multilevel governance mechanisms developed by the EU and Members States in recent years.

Even though Europe is one of the regions where decentralization is strongly embedded in institutions and policies, LRGs in the region have in recent years experienced major challenges and critical reforms in their institutional environment that have impacted on the scope of their responsibilities, resources and autonomy. Despite changing conditions in a majority of countries, LRGs have adapted to ensure the continuity of public services, which can respond to the increasing demands of their communities, and support sustainable inclusive local development, taking the lead in many cases in transformative policies in several areas (climate change, social inclusion and cohesion, local development).

The following section analyses a number of these policies and initiatives developed by the territories, as well as the challenges that LRGs face in delivering them.

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03. The contribution of local and regional governments to the localization of the SDGs

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3.1 LRG associations’ and networks’ actions to support local ownership of the SDGs

European LRG networks and LGAs have shown a strong commitment to the localization of global agendas. However, the way in which they approach these agendas differs considerably, depending on the geographical scope of their intervention, be it European or national, and on the resources they are able to mobilize.

Their focus is on mobilizing and supporting their constituencies to engage with the global agendas, report and capitalize achievements, advocate for more enabling environments, and stimulate and facilitate the exchange of experience and knowledge.

Brussels-based networks and national LGAs, particularly in Northern and Western Europe, have been leading the localization process in the region by allocating growing resources and building commitment.86 The involvement of LRGs and LGAs in other countries remains challenging and has a long way to go, although some positive experiences can also be underlined.

European network and supranational association initiatives European supranational LRG networks and LGAs have made a concerted effort to contribute to the SDG localization process. Firstly, they have fostered spaces for information, dissemination, learning and training, and generated support tools for their members. Secondly, they have taken advantage of the strong global consensus around the 2030 Agenda to upscale territorial priorities in the framework of EU policies.

Information and dissemination campaigns have contributed to the mobilization of networks and associations’ members and their peers and very often have created an enabling environment for interaction and alliance-building with other stakeholders (CSOs, private sector or the EU institutions). In fact, some Directorate-Generals of the EC, members of the European Parliament and

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the CoR have been good allies of European LRGs and their efforts to localize the 2030 Agenda and capitalize their contributions (see Section 2.3).

It is difficult to map all the initiatives developed

by European LRG networks.87 CEMR88 and PLATFORMA,89 for example, have established a task force where members share information and experience on the implementation of the SDGs in their countries, and the way in which national governments coordinate and cooperate with the sub-national level, and whether it in turn is included in the reporting process to the UN. Furthermore, in 2018, PLATFORMA organized several exchange meetings with different national LGAs (e.g. AICCRE — Italy, LALRG — Latvia, FEMP — Spain, VNG International – VNGi — the Netherlands, ALAL — Lithuania) as part of a pilot project entitled ‘National Multi-Stakeholder Dialogues on Development’. 90 In December 2018, the CEMR Policy Committee had a debate on the SDGs and the adequacy of public policies; members expressed strong support for the SDGs and agreed that CEMR would develop a multi-annual strategy for the SDGs. This strategy will be adopted at the spring policy committee meeting, before the CEMR 2020 Congress, ‘Local Action. Global Shift.

Living the Sustainable Development Goals’ on 6-8 May 2020 in Innsbruck, Austria.

Eurocities91 organized its Social Affairs Forum in Utrecht (March 2018), ‘Making the city together: co-creating city strategies to deliver the SDGs at local level’, which included panel debates, workshops, site visits and speed-networking sessions. Similarly, jointly with the city of Ghent, it organized SDG Summer Deals in June 2018,92 and co-organized workshops with CoR and CEMR on the implementation of the SDGs at regional and local level on several occasions.93 Other regional government networks, such as the Association of European Border Regions (AEBR),94 AER95 and CPMR,96 as well as thematic networks — Climate

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Alliance,97 Energy Cities98 — and global networks — C40, CLGF, Global Parliament of Mayors, Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI), Regions4, Metropolis, the Union of Ibero-American Capital Cities (UCCI)99 — are particularly active.

The joint work undertaken between the LRGs and EU institutions in the framework of the 2030 Agenda acts as an accelerator or lever for the EU and its Member States to enhance LRG-related policies in important fields, such as cohesion (and structural funds), urban development, the fight against climate change and housing affordability.

Eurocities, CEMR and CoR, together with the EC and EU Member States, actively participated in the negotiations leading to the adoption of the Urban Agenda for the EU (Pact of Amsterdam, 2016).100 In the implementation stage, several partnerships bring together the EC, Member States' cities and associations’ representatives of local and regional governments to develop joint initiatives at the EU and local level.101 In other areas, the EU has listened to the demands made by LRGs, their associations and local stakeholders, for example through the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy to implement the EU climate and energy objectives.102 The Covenant will also be key to improving local, national and European policies that implement the Paris Climate Agreement, SDG 11 and SDG 13.

LRG networks have now launched a process for reflection and dialogue around the shared stance of European LRGs on the pending Cohesion Policy 2021-2027. Different topics, such as the need to link the new cohesion and structural funds to the commitments made by the international community regarding the 2030 Agenda, the New Urban Agenda and the Paris Climate Agreement as well as the localization of SDGs though the European Structural and Investment Funds, are on the agenda. The Cohesion Alliance,103 funded by the CoR, CEMR, AEBR, AER, CPMR and Eurocities, will work ceaselessly to ensure that cohesion is not sacrificed in the post-2020 EU budget and that LRGs are included in the shaping and managing of investment programs.104 The increasing role of LRGs in the framework of the global sustainable development agendas (2030 Agenda, NUA, the Conference of the Parties (COP), Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration) needs to be reflected

Supranational LRG networks and LGAs have taken advantage of the global consensus around the 2030 Agenda to upscale territorial priorities in the framework of EU policies.

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in European political agendas. European LRGs have fully engaged with EU policies for a long time, seeking to make them respond to local needs through formal channels, such as the CoR, ad hoc mechanisms and/or informal channels.

Their political agenda has been raised to EU level, whether through their LGAs or directly. A large share of EU regions and some of the main cities and their LGAs have offices in Brussels that allow direct communication channels with EU institutions.

Awareness-raising, training and platforms for the exchange of experiences at national level Two surveys in 2018 and 2019 by CEMR/ PLATFORMA give more detail of the work undertaken by European LGAs on the 2030 Agenda.105 Seventy percent of the 26 LGAs that represent local government in 23 countries said they are familiar with the SDGs, 52% that they use the SDGs as a reference and 44% that they align their work priorities with the SDGs, including exchange meetings and awarenessraising initiatives, campaigns, training, advocacy, knowledge-exchange. The majority (20) promote activities to support the SDGs among their members.

The Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR) is working in collaboration with the Swedish UN Association, with financial support from the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), to coordinate a three-year project called Glocal Sweden, whose mission is to raise awareness, and educate and engage municipalities, county councils and regions in relation to the 2030 Agenda. In 2019, 81 municipalities and 15 regions joined the seven entities that took part in the original pilot project.106 This is also true of the Austrian Städtebund, Danish Regions (DR) and Local Government Denmark (LGDK), the Italian branch of CEMR (AICCRE),107 LGAs in Belgium, Czech Republic,108 Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Lithuania, Latvia,109 (see Boxes 1 and 2) and more recently their Scottish peers.

In Iceland in 2019, the Islandic Association of Local Authorities organized a seminar to encourage the country’s 72 municipalities to promote the SDGs. As a result, cities such as Kopavogur, Mosfellsbaer, Reyjkjavik and Akureyri worked to integrate the SDGs into their local plans. In France, the Association of Mayors of France (AMF), the French section of CEMR (AFCCRE) and United Cities France (CUF), as well as the Assembly of Departments and the French Associations of Regions (RdF), were invited to the High-Level Steering Committee for the SDGs. A number of them created a working group on the SDGs and decentralized cooperation bringing together various French cities and regions.

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Consequently, cities and regions began to align their plans with the SDGs. 110 In Germany, LGAs have been active from the outset and municipalities signed the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: Building Sustainability at the Local Level Declaration, calling on ‘federal and state governments to involve local authorities and their representatives as equals when developing strategies to achieve the SDGs'. With the support of the Federal Ministry (BMZ) and the Service Agency Communities in One World (SKEW), LGAs are assisting German municipalities in developing their local strategies to introduce the SDGs (see also Box 6).111 Similarly, Serbian LRGs and their LGA SCTM have fostered cooperation with national institutions to achieve the SDGs and, with UNDP, launched the project, ‘Support for Improving Governance and Economic Planning at the Local Level for Accelerating the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in the Republic of Serbia’.112 In the UK, LGAs have raised awareness among members and contributed with positive experiences to the 2019 VNR, while the Scottish LGA, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), co-signed the National Performance Framework that led to mainstreaming the SDGs into middle and long-term plans at national and local level.113 Transnational cooperation has also proved essential: in 2019, the Lithuanian LGA, in cooperation with the national government, organized a high-level conference for mutual learning and the exchange of experiences on the SDGs with Moldova. Other LGAs, however, have had a more passive role and have participated in national conferences organized by the national government or international partners (Romania’s LGA) or made public commitments but must move towards implementation (Slovakia, Bosnia and Herzegovina), or are still discussing how to act (Albania, Moldova).

Despite all these efforts, LGAs still need to enhance their role as SDG implementers. Many LGAs, particularly in Central and South Eastern Europe, still perceive the SDGs as an additional and external framework that does not necessarily pertain to the territory.115 In the aforementioned survey, only seven LGAs indicated that they had set up inter-departmental working modalities; eight had developed joint activities with external stakeholders; two mentioned that their organization had chosen to focus on a limited number of SDGs; and eight LGAs were combining all these approaches. For almost half (40%) of the LGAs, the SDG framework has reinforced their work with European and international fora. However, one third of the respondents said that no strategy was yet in place. LGAs need to strengthen an integrated approach to the SDGs, ensuring interdepartmental work and broader partnerships.

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Box 1

LGA actions to disseminate the 2030 Agenda The Netherlands has seen the emergence of a myriad of local projects thanks to the Municipalities4Global Goals Campaign, fostered by the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG).

This campaign has been welcomed by the municipalities. As the association itself points out: municipalities prefer ‘an umbrella project/campaign which provides support, inspiration and exchange of good practices, rather than a uniform or top-down campaign that tells municipalities what to do’.

Examples of the projects of this initiative are the SDG ‘Time Capsule’, the annual most inspiring LRG competition, and the creation of communication materials. Each year, VNG International (VNGi), the international agency of VNG, organizes a competition for the ‘most inspiring Global Goals municipality’ as part of their New Year’s reception.

For local elections in March 2018, VNG launched a booklet signed by mayors to support the SDGs. In September 2018, furthermore, it held four regional Global Goals meetings, with the Dutch Municipal Bank, and the Global Goals Social Impact Challenge to involve responsible entrepreneurs. It also set up Global Goals lectures and sessions during the annual VNG Mayors Day. Together with SNGs (provinces and water boards), VNG each year drafts a chapter for the annual SDG report for the Dutch Parliament.

Moreover, the Association of Flemish Cities and Municipalities (VVSG) has been very active supporting local governments on awareness-raising on the SDGs and integrating the SDGs into policy plans with publications, tools, information sessions and workshops.

VVSG developed, for example, tools and recommendations supporting a project with a pilot group of 20 municipalities. At the political level, VVSG proposed an SDG Declaration of Engagement that has already been signed by one out of four Flemish municipalities.

It also offered recommendations during the last local election for local political parties to integrate the SDGs into their manifestos (discussing the SDGs within the party and through citizen participation, including visual presentation and key messages to link the SDGs with party priorities, etc.). Following the election, it organized information sessions for approximately 2,000 newly elected councillors. In addition, VVSG launched in 2018 the yearly Sustainable Municipality Week with the participation of over 80 municipalities and 650 ‘local heroes’, committed citizens, companies, schools and organizations that contribute in their own way to sustainable development.

In South-East Europe, as part of its efforts to raise awareness of global agendas at the local level, in February 2019, the Network of Associations of Local Authorities (NALAS), in collaboration with the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), published a handbook for practitioners, ‘Agenda 2030 in my municipality’, and organized several training workshops in the region.114 This handbook provides key information about the SDGs, explains the role of municipalities in their implementation, and explores awarenessraising tools that municipalities could use to bring the SDGs closer to their citizens. It also provides a variety of examples from the region that illustrate what municipalities have done to promote the SDGs and how this has affected their wellbeing.

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Upscaling local and regional interests towards national strategies and policies Across Europe, LGAs, through the advocacy strategies, signal their aim to participate in the national mechanisms for the coordination and follow-up of the 2030 Agenda, and in the national VNRs. According to the CEMR/PLATFORMA survey, two thirds of the 26 LGAs that responded reported that LRGs are mentioned in their national strategies for the implementation of the SDGs; 60% have been involved in the VNR process, and 69% in the national coordination mechanisms of the SDGs. The level of involvement varies: ten LGAs were strongly involved in the reporting process, some only attended informative workshops or were invited to comment once the VNR was finalized.116 Only 23% reported that national coordination mechanisms have triggered any change on cross-level governance relations.117 In countries such as the Netherlands and

Box 2

The advocacy role of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities (FEMP) The Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) has played a major role in SDG localization throughout the country. This LGA has approached the 2030 Agenda in a strategic manner, captured in the document, ‘FEMP Commitment 2030’.

FEMP deployed a set of actions to: a) foster institutional strengthening and awareness-raising of local stakeholders to improve knowledge around the SDGs and their localization; b) strengthen and legitimize the strategic role played by LRGs, towards more strategic advocacy actions; c) strengthen alliances with LGA networks, national, European and international organizations and amongst the Spanish LRGs, through the exchange of experiences, technical assistance initiatives and decentralized cooperation for the achievement of the SDGs; and d) contribute to monitoring.

Moreover, FEMP and regional governments drafted a document detailing sub-national SDG achievements to be incorporated in the Spanish VNR; organized the Local Week for the 2030 Agenda and a decentralized cooperation meeting to share experiences and discussion around the SDG localization with national and international peers, and organized training sessions on SDG localization aimed at LRGs. During 2018, representatives of FEMP and regional governments participated as occasional observers in the HighLevel Group (inter-ministerial) in charge of the coordination of the 2030 Agenda. In February 2019, the Spanish government created the National Commission for the 2030 Agenda to ensure coordination with SNGs, and the Sustainable Development Council to facilitate cooperation with civil society, as part of the governance of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

Denmark, where multilevel governance is strongly developed, LRG representatives were from the outset involved in or consulted on the preparation of the VNRs or coordination policies (also in Belgium at regional level). In Switzerland, the federal government has committed to intensify the dialogue with the cantons and communes through the Swiss Association of Towns and the Swiss Association of Municipalities. In some countries, LRG representatives participate in working groups at an advisory level, for example in Germany, where LGAs take part in the InterMinisterial Working Group on Sustainable Urban Development (‘IMA-STadt’). LGA participation also occurs through pre-existing mechanisms such as a Council for Sustainable Development (e.g.

Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Moldova, Montenegro and Switzerland), or new multi-stakeholders forums (Ireland, Slovakia); in Greece through the Economic and Social Committee, and in Poland in the Joint Central Government and Local Government Committee. In France, as mentioned, an LGA representative was invited to the High-Level Steering Committee for the SDGs established in April 2018 and charged with creating a roadmap for the localization of the SDGs. In Spain, while several regions, provinces and municipalities initiated actions much earlier than their national government, still LRG representatives were invited as occasional observers to the High-Level Group for the 2030 Agenda (inter-ministerial mechanism). More recently, in February 2019, the Spanish government created a specific mechanism to ensure the cooperation of the SNG level (see Box 2).118 The involvement of LGAs in the process of reporting and follow-up is particularly weak in countries such Albania, Cyprus and Malta.119 Greater involvement of LRGs in the design and follow-up of national strategies will facilitate better integration of local realities and policies. Capitalizing on the LRGs’ innovation and added-value solutions will help develop a new paradigm in which public policies are jointly defined and implemented by the different spheres of government and with the participation of key stakeholders.

It is therefore advisable to promote local and regional level reports that could be included in the national reviews and monitoring processes to facilitate effective harmonization and more coherence of public policies in line with the 2030 Agenda.120

Source: https://bit.ly/2IzILU3.

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3.2 Local and regional government initiatives for the implementation of the SDGs

In large part due to the work of networks and associations, European LRGs are showing a growing commitment to the global agendas related to sustainable development. The 2030 Agenda is a very good opportunity to influence all policy-making processes and strengthen citizens’ participation mechanisms.

The CEMR/PLATFORMA survey in 2019 was responded by 49 cities, departments, provinces and regions, while the CoR, with the support of the OECD, undertook another survey between December 2018 and March 2019, with 400 respondents.121 In the first survey, 71% of respondents were aware of and in the process of aligning their work with the SDGs, while in the CoR survey, 59% were familiar with the SDGs and working to implement them. In the CoR survey, furthermore, the percentage of large and middle-sized cities and regions engaged in implementation was especially high (87% and 78% respectively), but was lower for small municipalities (37%).

However, very few LRGs were directly involved in the VNR process (21%) or in national coordination mechanisms (9%).122 In the following countries, different sources reported a large number of local governments involved in the localization process: Belgium (e.g. 63% of Flemish local governments), Denmark, Norway (25%-30% of LRGs), Sweden (81 municipalities and 15 regions), Switzerland (16 cantons and 234 municipalities), and the Netherlands (64 municipalities).

Albeit to a lesser extent, a significant number of LRGs are also engaged in localization in countries such as Austria, Finland and Germany.123 In many others, mobilization is growing (e.g. France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, UK, Baltic countries), but is more limited in Ireland, and Central Europe (Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, or Hungary — particularly limited). More generally, mobilization is still in the preliminary stages in East and South-East Europe (with the exception of Serbia where a national project is promoting the SDGs at local level).

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Alignment of the SDGs with local strategies and local actions The transformative power of the 2030 Agenda links to the founding principles upon which this universal agreement was based rather than on the achievement of the sectoral targets integrated in each of its goals. To unlock the transformative power of the 2030 Agenda through the process of aligning local or regional development strategies and public policies, LRGs should move towards more multi-dimensional, integral, participative, inclusive and accountable approaches for defining, implementing and monitoring policies.

This, however, depends largely on the institutional and legal environments in which LRGs operate.

Fostering an enabling environment, as described above, remains crucial to realizing the potential of LRGs’ contribution to the 2030 Agenda, particularly when local development plans are guided (or even determined) by national development strategies (NDSs).

LRGs approach the SDGs differently. Many cities, provinces and regions are already or are in the process of aligning the SDGs with their local development plans or policies (e.g cities such as Amiens, Besançon, Bonn; provinces such as Cordoba, Barcelona, Gironde; regions such as Brussels, Basque Region, Catalonia, Kronoberg).124 Many big cities are taking the lead to localize the SDGs (e.g. Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Madrid, Paris, Vienna) — their experiences are developed further in the Metropolitan Areas Chapter of the GOLD V Report.

While some LRGs are adopting a more integrated approach to mainstreaming the SDGs in their development plans, their policies to address sectoral challenges have some way to go in this regard. The conceptual framework of the 2030 Agenda may however help change this approach. A recent analysis commissioned by the Nordic Council of Ministers to assess the implementation of the 2030 Agenda at the local level reveals the holistic approach adopted by the ‘first movers’ municipalities in the five Northern

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countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden). Many municipalities are adapting management systems and tools to align local goals and plans with the 2030 Agenda (see Box 3).

Many local governments are taking the opportunity of having newly local elected officers to promote new approaches. Examples include the work done by VNG in the Netherlands to foster new multi-annual strategic plans to be adopted after the October 2018 elections; by the Flanders’ VVSG in Belgium to foster the inclusion of the SDGs in various local political agreements (20182022) following local elections also in October 2018;125 by the Barcelona Provincial Council126 through a roadmap for the cross-sectoral

Box 3

Holistic approaches adopted by Northern European municipalities130 The Nordregio study analyses 27 municipalities that chose to use the 2030 Agenda to mainstream a sustainability perspective.

The municipalities are located in all the Nordic countries and regions, and include small towns and capital cities, island, coastal and inland municipalities, municipalities with vast territories, and those with smaller areas.

Some local authorities linked the SDGs with their core steering documents such as local plans or strategies (Hurdal, Bergen, Copenhagen, Kópavogur, Gladsaxe, Kronoberg and Västra Götaland); to their local objectives (Kristiansund, Örebro, Uppsala) or their sustainability and quality of life programmes (Åtvidaberg, Växjö, Helsingborg, Odense).

Others adapted management systems (Kemi, Malmö), or used the SDGs to guide a merger of municipalities (New Asker).131 Other local authorities, moreover, work with the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs in specific projects or policy areas or for specific purposes (environmental policies, urban development, climate issues, health and wellbeing).

Each city has specific experiences that they can share with others: Copenhagen how to use living labs to engage local population in developing innovative solutions; Bergen how to link a business strategy to the SDGs; Upsala how to use spatial analysis to define its priorities; Helsingborg how to link the SDGs to a Quality of Life Plan; Kópavogur how to develop and use indicators systems such the Social Progress Index; and Hurdal how to promote green housing, among others.

Some proposed recommendations are: greater support and customized training; better access to funding; more communication between national and local authorities on their priorities; harmonized indicators; and more opportunities for knowledge-sharing, and spread of best practice and solutions for inspiration.

The study also calls for more information and educational campaigns about the 2030 Agenda and emphasizes that selection of priorities, implementation and measurement of their impact must be adapted to local conditions.

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integration of the SDGs in the next Mandate Implementation Plan following the May 2019 elections (and its support of the municipalities in its territory to take the same path); the Integrated World Heritage Management Plan of Regensburg127 (which integrates cultural heritage in all aspects of city life, be it culture, building, economy, tourism, or others); and the Mannheim Model,128 through its eight strategic priorities to foster resilience. In Balkan countries, in 2018, Bijeljina (Bosnia and Herzegovina) revised its Integrated Development Strategy to mainstream the SDGs.129 Other examples of regional level integrated approaches being adopted are Wallonia (second sustainable development strategy,132 with a focus on consumption and production patterns regarding food, energy and resources); in Spain, Valencia,133 Catalonia,134 and the Basque Country, which all integrated the SDGs in their development plans; Kronoberg and Västra Götalandor,135 in Sweden; or North Rhine Westphalia in Germany, whose strategy was accompanied by the development of 15 other local strategies in the region (e.g. the city of Münster) as a pilot project (see Box 4).136 When asked about the main challenges they face in working towards the achievement of the SDGs and the other global agendas, LRG respondents in the CEMR/PLATFORMA survey point to insufficient financial resources and lack of multilevel coordination, followed closely by limited local awareness and inadequate human resources and capacities. Respondents to the CoR/OECD survey, meanwhile, mainly highlighted lack of awareness and capacities or trained staff (50% of all respondents), difficulty to prioritize the SDGs over other agendas (49%), followed closely by insufficient financial resources (45%). In the CEMR/PLATFORMA survey, other challenges were limited support from national governments, the need for legal and institutional reforms to empower LRGs and limited access to information.

In the CoR/OECD survey other challenges were lack of high-level commitment and follow-up, difficulties in communicating on the SDGs, lack of harmonized data at different levels or difficulty in selecting appropriate indicators.145

Involvement of crucial stakeholders (public and private) and ‘leaving no one behind’ The 2030 Agenda is leveraging the involvement of local stakeholders (grassroots and CSOs; foundations and the private sector — usually through business and employers’ organizations; trades unions, universities, other knowledge-based organizations etc.) in the policy-making and planning process.

As mentioned, involving territorial stakeholders is necessary not only to make public bodies and their interventions more accountable, but also to define effective policies and plans that respond

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Box 4

Regions, provinces and cities’ examples of integrated SDG strategies Barcelona Provincial Council (Spain)137 In 2016, the Barcelona Provincial Council, with its 311 municipalities, made a strong commitment to achieving the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs. It developed a comprehensive strategy to implement the SDGs within the institution while providing support to the province's municipalities to localize the SDGs in their territories. The strategy promoted a communication and awareness campaign called “Sí m’hi comprometo!”, which offered opportunities for awareness raising, exchange of experiences and dissemination of materials, and launched a specific SDG website, to provide municipalities with the necessary information to develop their own strategies. Along these lines, specific training sessions on SDGs have been made available to both the municipalities and the departments of the Provincial Council. These training sessions comprise an introductory course and a specialized one to train LRGs on how to define their SDG localization strategies. In addition, the Provincial Council provides technical and economic support for municipalities to align their strategic plans to the SDGs, as well as to localize their municipal policies.

Besançon (France)138 With a specific focus on the cross-cutting nature of the SDGs, the city of Besançon has put forward a comprehensive set of actions to steer sustainable development in its territory, structured along the five axes of sustainability adopted after the Rio 1992 Earth Summit. These are: the fight against climate change; the preservation of biodiversity; the promotion of social cohesion; the protection of human life conditions; and the shift towards responsible production and consumption modes. The city council has developed initiatives along these lines, engaging a broad scope of local stakeholders, including a broad strategy to enhance energy efficiency (urban renewal, renewable energies), while reducing the ecological impact and improving environmental protection. Moreover, the city seeks to embed cohesiveness combining actions based on the promotion of culture and the inclusion of vulnerable populations with the elaboration of local development action plans via citizen participation.

Bristol (UK) Based on the experience of Bristol Green Capital City, the Bristol City Council is working on its first ever One City Plan.

The SDGs offer a common language for city partners — across the environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainability and across the private, public and third sectors —. 75 of the 169 SDGs targets were found to be directly relevant to the One City Plan. The process has been supported by the Bristol SDG Alliance, made up of more than 45 stakeholders (business sector, CSOs, academia, health institutions, women's organizations), advocating for the practical use of the SDGs in the city. In October 2017, Bristol City Council organized a Festival of the Future City and created an ambassadorial cabinet member role. Citizen-led engagement is planned to reach out to schoolchildren and business networks; and universities will develop assessments, prepare sustainable plans and commit to develop learning for SDGs. The city adopted a manifesto for women (2016) and created a Global Goals Centre. In partnership with the UN Global Compact, in November 2018, it organized an SDG Roadshow 2018 for the UK. 139

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Harelbeke (Belgium)140 The municipality fully embraced the momentum of local elections in October 2018 and the subsequent development of the multi-annual strategic plans for 2020-2025 to move towards a more sustainable local policy aligned with the SDGs. Harelbeke has created broad support for the SDGs within the local administration, council and with external stakeholders such as citizens, private sector and schools.

For example, a participatory analysis of the municipality was developed around the five P’s of sustainable development (people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership).

Moreover, in the run-up to the local elections, the civil advisory boards of the municipality wrote a manifesto aimed at the politicians, structuring their demands on the five P’s.

In addition, new multi-annual strategic plans integrate the SDGs with the municipality’s sustainability priorities (e.g. mobility, smart cities and housing for elderly); and Harelbeke is also using the SDG framework to communicate about a city-to-city link with Eenhana (Botswana), and to revise this particular programme.

Münster (Germany) 141 The German city of Münster has involved the whole local administration (22 offices) in planning and implementation of SDG strategies, both from a political and technical perspective, and produced changes in the local governance approach. There is a core team for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda (six departments), as well as an advisory board (multi-stakeholder platform). Several operational objectives have been agreed: orientation of the Council’s public procurement towards the 2030 Agenda; implementation of eco-fair procurement by at least 50 pilot stakeholders; capital procurement of the city and local businesses, alongside capital investment, based on sustainable criteria; development of resilient structures and processes for global justice through enhanced networking, and the establishment of at least one city or project partnership with a community and/or stakeholders from the global South, together with a civil society structure.

Utrecht (Netherlands)142 In 2015, Utrecht Council decided to become a Global Goals City. One of the main priorities is the creation of a ‘healthy urban living’ environment, focusing on areas such as innovation, health economy and infrastructure, sustainable mobility, air quality, and reducing CO2 emissions.

Working towards an integrated, interdisciplinary and multistakeholder approach, the city mobilized a large coalition of citizen initiatives and local stakeholders (business, NGOs, knowledge institutions): for example: the Heelutrechtu Campaign to stimulate citizens, grassroots initiatives and businesses that contribute to the SDGs; Fairtrade Utrecht and Utrecht 4 Global Gifts to promote fair trade and sustainable products from Utrecht-based businesses. In 2018, Utrecht4GlobalGoals organized the Climate Planet which attracted an estimated 70,000 visitors. Furthermore, the municipality developed the Global Goals Dashboard.

Other cities, such as Oss, have included the SDGs in their programme budgets for 2019-2022 and developed their own local indicators and dashboards.143 Meanwhile, Rheden has decided to base its municipal reorganization on the Global Goals.144

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Strengthening pre-existing and new alliances with territorial stakeholders, including CSOs, the private sector, schools and knowledge-based organizations, is key to improving national SDG implementation strategies and better linking them to the local level. to the real needs and interests of citizens and communities. Their involvement makes it possible to pool knowledge, resources, innovation capacity and legitimacy.

The campaigns, conferences, trainings and exchanges of experiences are fostering joint actions by LRGs and LGAs with other stakeholders and, particularly, with CSOs, the private sector, schools and knowledge-based organizations.

Strengthening these alliances is key to improving national SDG implementation strategies and better linking them to the local level. Since 2016, the Belgian SDG Charter has been signed by local governments, among numerous other stakeholders and governmental bodies. The Netherlands SDG Charter signatories include large private companies, CSOs and the VNG (around 500 parties). Finland’s Civil Society Commitment, ‘The Finland We Want 2050’, is a multi-stakeholder platform supported by all levels of government. In Italy, AICCRE is a member of the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (ASviS), also a multi-stakeholder initiative.

In France, the multi-stakeholder Committee Agenda 21, in 2018 initiated a ‘Tour de France’ in partnership with the Association of French Regions that will continue to run during 2019.146 In Portugal, the Inter-Municipal Network for Cooperation and Development (RICD), with a membership of 20 municipalities, organized in 2016-2017 a travelling exposition on the SDGs and their localization that has been touring the country. In Latvia, both LGAs LALRG and LPS have promoted SDG multi-stakeholder dialogues during 2017 with civil society and organized two grant competitions for development education among Latvian local governments. Likewise, in Croatia, the national LGA has worked handin-hand with NGOs to improve dissemination through joint events and the publication of a brochure. In 2018, during the European Days of Local Solidarity (EDLS), a growing number of elected representatives signed the EDLS Charter and up to 120 activities were organized across Europe by city councils in partnership with CSOs and education centres.147 Many LRGs have also used pre-existing

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platforms to engage their local stakeholders. For example, the former Madrid City Council launched the strategy ‘Madrid 2030: a city for all persons and generations’ to reduce social inequalities and exclusion. This was a cross-cutting and crosssectoral exercise based on the outcomes of the Foro Madrid Solidario, a forum where all local stakeholders involved in development cooperation and global justice work together in an open, flexible and dynamic manner. 148 It also complements the citizen participation Decide Madrid website.149 The most important aim of the 2030 Agenda that has become one of the key references of the entire implementation process is the joint commitment of ‘leaving no one (and no territory) behind’. This powerful and transformative principle refers to the need to reach out to the most vulnerable groups to understand the disadvantages these people face; and empower and involve them directly in the inclusive definition, implementation of monitoring of global, regional, national and local strategies for sustainable development. They are migrants, children, the elderly, LGBTQIA+ members, and women, among others. The Barcelona Metropolitan Area’s Sustainability Service and the Housing Public Entity (IMPSOL) launched an SDG-related pilot project that aims to protect the rights of tenants and offer affordable and adequate housing by listening to and working closely with the most deprived citizens.150 In Lisbon, the awareness-raising Lisbon Programme on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights (SOMOS) focuses on the rights of the child, racism, LGBTQIA+ rights, disability, gender violence and bullying, covering the most vulnerable groups. It has built SOMOS schools (in conjunction with partner organizations including migrants NGOs), and brings together people from particular sectors, such as NGOs, academies, public institutions, corporate bodies, schools, volunteers etc. in an inclusive way.151 Finally, Brussels is working to transform and revitalize the Brussels Canal Area and old slaughterhouse with the principal aim of bringing economic and social opportunities for inhabitants living in the area (many immigrant ethnic groups with usually low incomes). It is turning the former slaughterhouse into an everyday infrastructure with a farmer’s market, and urban agriculture, and completely revitalizing this region at an economic, social and environmental level. The city was shortlisted for the 3th Guangzhou Award (2016) for the project.

Making LRGs accountable and measuring their achievements Defining efficient monitoring and evaluation systems is complex, especially at the territorial level where mechanisms to collect information and reliable data raise problems of resources and capacities. SDG indicators were established at the national level and many of them are not applicable

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in local and regional contexts. The complexity and divergences between UN, Eurostat, national and regional monitoring systems further complicate the process. However, 64% of the LGA answers to the survey collected by CEMR/PLATFORMA indicated that LGAs know about initiatives in their countries to develop local indicators to monitor the SDGs and/or disaggregate data collection. In the CoR survey, moreover, 58% of respondents currently use indicators to monitor progress.152 To monitor progress in an EU context, Eurostat has developed the European SDG indicator set in close coordination with the national statistical divisions. 153 However, this uses national indicators that do not always respond to local contexts.

Meanwhile, the SDG 11 indicators are a very useful tool to measure some achievements at urban level,154 but they clearly fall short of monitoring implementation of most other SDGs at the local level (and at national level too), as was highlighted by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) study, ‘Exposing EU policy gaps to address the Sustainable Development Goals’.155 The need for data collection and analysis at the local level has been recognized by a number of countries such as Belgium or Sweden (which envisages a comprehensive National SDG Statistical Platform involving LRGs), even if they are still exploring the most appropriate ways to localize indicators that are aligned to those proposed by the UN. At the same time, several cities, provinces, regions and associations, either by themselves or in close alliance with knowledge-based organizations, are working to set up systems of local/regional indicators aligned with those proposed at the Inter-agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators (IAEG-SDGs).

Interesting examples are being developed in Germany and in the province of Barcelona (see Box 5). These are also being designed to be reliable and verifiable through the data collection systems available at local/regional level, and are sometimes linked to the monitoring of other policies such as Vienna’s Smart Monitor.156 Another initiative is the Reference Framework for Sustainable Cities (RFSC), an online toolkit designed to assist cities in their self-assessment of the performance and alignment of local strategies and plans in relation to the European Vision of Sustainable Cities. This provides a framework of 30 objectives comprising spatial, governance, social, economic and environmental dimensions, and the 17 SDGs, to ‘localize the SDGs’. Suitable for cities of all sizes and open to all stakeholders, the tool promotes the principles of integrated planning, and a place-based and multi-stakeholder approach. 157 At local level, Utrecht, shortlisted for the 4th Guangzhou Awards for Urban Innovation (see Box 4), is currently developing a local SDG data

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dashboard with existing local indicators connected to the SDG targets. This aims to be accessible to the different departments of the municipality and partners to complement the municipal data with examples of local SDG progress by urban stakeholders.158 At the same time, VNG and Statistics Netherlands (CBS) are working to create a set of indicators at sub-national level. In Flanders, an indicator set was developed for 91 SDG sub-targets with a basic set of 34 indicators for municipalities, in line with the goals of Vision 2030, the SDG agenda of the Flemish government.

Some of these indicators are made available to municipalities by higher levels of government, while for others data have to be collected by the

Box 5

Bottom-up initiatives to develop SDG indicators – the German and Spanish experiences160 The association of German cities, Deutscher Städtetag, reports on the initiative it shares with its sister associations (DL and DStGB), the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR), the German Institute of Urban Studies (Difu), the Service Agency Communities in One World (SKEW) and the Bertelsmann Stiftung (BSt).

The aim of the initiative, SDG Indicators for Municipalities, is to develop appropriate indicators for the depiction of the SDGs at municipal level (i.e. to compile and, where necessary, redefine them) and, to the greatest possible extent, provide access to the indicator parameters.

The recently proposed 47 SDG indicators should be regarded as recommendations: individual municipalities decide voluntarily which indicators they want to use to depict or control sustainable development in a local context. The data and methodology are now available through a portal: https://sdg-portal.de/.

Similarly, the Barcelona Metropolitan Strategic Plan (Pla Estratègic Metropolità de Barcelona — PEMB), together with the Barcelona Provincial Council have launched an initiative to develop a set of indicators to measure the achievement of the SDGs in the municipalities of the Province of Barcelona.

To this end, a working group was created bringing together different actors, including local governments, research centres, international institutions, third-sector organizations and private companies working within the framework of the SDGs and with expertise in the development of indicators and local information systems in the territory. The working methodology included face-to-face and online sessions through a specific platform.

As a result of this initiative, 109 indicators were developed, consistent with the existing information systems and aligned to those established by the United Nations. In addition, 69 complementary indicators were suggested that, although not required by the UN, were considered useful to measure the sustainable development of the territory.

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municipalities themselves. Municipalities decide voluntarily which indicators they want to use in accordance with their own context and goals.159 The Spanish161 and Italian162 partners of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) have published country reports that measure the progress of the SDGs in a number of cities of all sizes through selected indicators adapted to their context and to the official statistical sources available to obtain robust data.

Several Portuguese municipalities belonging to the Centre of Studies and Opinion Surveys of the Catholic University (CESOP) local network, which is following the same methodology as SDSN, have worked together in order to create the Municipal Sustainability Report.163 In Italy in 2017, ASviS also developed a set of composite indicators that include disaggregated data at the level of regions and complete the process begun by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT).

Finally, many cities and regions are also developing Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) that can be included in national reporting. These include the Basque Country, Barcelona, Bristol, Bourgogne-

Franche-ComtĂŠ Region, the Gironde department, Helsinki, Paris and Vienna. City-to-city exchange, and decentralized cooperation, can facilitate peerto-peer learning to support monitoring and ensure coherent implementation, developing a common language and plans, putting the SDGs at the heart of policy and action with partners and discussion with both national governments and citizens, as well as developing partnerships with LRGs in the Global South.164

Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain (photo: Š Andrea Ciambra).

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3.3 Local and regional governments as providers of innovation and solutions to achieve the SDGs

Although at different stages, LRGs across Europe are moving forward in the SDG localization process. They have continued to conceive of and implement policies, plans and initiatives to respond to the challenges they face, complying with their formally devolved and de facto competences, most of them related to the SDGs (see Section 2.2) to contribute to the wellbeing of their communities.

Particularly in the EU, cities, provinces and regions have been encouraged by and are taking advantage of the EU Cohesion Policy and its various instruments for the 2014-2020 period, as well as the important linkages to EU (and national) development cooperation policy referred to in Section 2. This EU policy framework has been translated into a number of national policies that determine to a greater or lesser extent the challenges and actions of LRGs. The following section shows some examples of policies and actions developed by LRGs to address different sectoral dimensions of the SDGs.

Inclusive economic growth: back to economic convergence Cities and territories are the backbone of European economic growth. They are promoting innovation, alternative economic models to boost their local fabric and reduce inequalities within and between territories.165 Inclusive territorial development policies are determinant for European cohesion policies seeking to have a more balanced territorial development. As emphasized in different European reports, regions in Europe seem to be converging again after the economic crisis of 2008-2009 but, although disparities are narrowing, there are still important differences between and within regions, underlying some critical issues for territorial inclusiveness.

Many regions still have a GDP per capita and employment rates below the pre-crisis level of 2008. While at the EU level, for example, unemployment rates have been reduced (from

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10.9% in 2013 to 8.3% in 2018), there are still important differences between regions.166 The regions most concerned with this problem are the less-developed (24%) and especially transition regions (27%).167 Outside of the EU, in the Western Balkans, the situation is however still worrying.168 The big differences in unemployment and income encourage people to move. Some regions have rapid population growth, particularly capital and large cities, while others depopulate.169 In order to overcome these challenges, many cities and territories are committing to innovation-driven progress. Thanks to their capacity to support their Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), foster new employment, promote new economic models (such as the social and collaborative economy) and sectors (cultural and creative industries), they are able to mainstream social and technological innovation.

In this sense, many medium-sized cities have become urban labs (or living labs), promoting innovation ecosystems where the different stakeholders jointly come up with and implement new solutions to the local challenges, through an approach focused on ‘user-centred’ innovation and development. In Cornella, the Citilab tool has been created to introduce social and digital innovation in the city using design thinking and citizen-based co-creation metholodologies.

Similarly in Ljubljana, the Technology Park (owned by the municipality) has a catalysing role that promotes networking, flexibility and co-creation of ideas and opportunities.170 Some cities and

Cities and territories are promoting alternative economic models to boost their local fabric and reduce inequalities within and between territories.

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Heraklion, Crete (photo: alh1, bit. ly/318bIMq).

regions have developed their own urban lab as a joint strategy with urban stakeholders (e.g. the Maastricht-LAB,171 and the living labs integrated in the Smart City Graz Action Plan 2020),172 while others may not run their own urban labs but offer the territory as a testing ground (e.g. Malmö).173 It is however important to note that innovation is in general concentrated in a limited number of regions, mostly in the North-West of Europe (UK, South of Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden). Meanwhile, other regions spread across Europe (in the Baltic countries, Spain, South of Italy, Greece, but above all Poland, Romania and Bulgaria), have a modest regional innovation performance.174 Taking into account that SMEs (SDG 8.3) are the backbone of Europe’s economy and provide 85% of all new jobs, LRGs should link their programmes to support innovation to those that foster SME creation and development (access to funding, etc.). Lombardy, for example, is offering grants for investments aimed at the optimization and innovation of the production processes of micro and small enterprises in the manufacturing, construction and crafts sectors.175 To support regional development, wider territorial solutions (including urban-rural linkages) and cooperation within functional urban areas are necessary. The Pact of Amsterdam and recently adopted Bucharest Declaration 'Towards a common framework for urban development in the European Union'176 also highlight this point. It is particularly relevant for less-developed regions, where the share of employment in agriculture in 2016 was 11 percentage points higher than in highly developed ones (13% versus 2%).177 For this reason, the development of the smaller cities and their connected hinterlands should carry as

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much importance as the competitiveness of larger cities.178 Precisely because of this need to take not only big cities into account but also smaller ones and the hinterlands (rural areas included), many regions have developed active policies to promote innovation in EU programmes and policies. Several EU Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialization (RIS3) strategies are adopted annually in Europe (over 120 by 2017), each highlighting their own fields of specialization, in order to boost the knowledge potential, strengthen economic competitiveness and drive growth and job creation. The Greek region of Crete,179 for example, opted for revitalizing traditional and emerging specific activities, and updating its production potential.

In the region of Salzburg,180 five priorities were considered key: life sciences; ICT; smart materials; intelligent building and settlement systems; and creative industries and services innovations.

Additionally, LRGs are giving increasing importance to the leading role technological innovation plays in economic sustainable development and the increase in productivity and employability, as well as in urban governance and the creation of better and more accessible services, which has fostered the growth of ‘smart city’ and ‘smart region’ solutions (see Section on environmental challenges below). LRGs are fostering many practices that ensure digitalization and technological innovation, such as the growing number of EU municipalities offering free Wi-Fi hotspots (in 2018, over 21,600 EU municipalities registered to apply for the vouchers to the value EUR 15,000 to create free Wi-Fi hotspots in the framework of the WIFI4EU programme).181 The Digital Transition Partnership, with the support of Eurocities, Open and Agile Smart Cities and

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CEMR, has called for a financial framework for cities and regions in digital transition to be guaranteed in the EU post-2020 budget.182 Innovation, however, does not always need to be technological. The social and collaborative economy offers alternative models that put the person and their needs at the core of the development. These models support productive activities, decent job creation and entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and prioritize collaboration in sectors such as culture, education, care for people, housing, food production and the protection of the environment.

LRGs in many EU countries are taking action to promote these alternative models. They are creating networks of actors within the social economy to experiment with innovative financial infrastructures such as social impact bonds, crowd-funding, impact hubs and digital platforms, enhancing urban innovation and encouraging smart city solutions from the bottom up. For instance, Gothenburg is offering financial support and skills development opportunities to social entrepreneurs (EUR 200,000 per year awarded in grants and EUR 500,000 per year given in microloans), Milan has launched the first incubator dedicated to social businesses, and Rennes has included social responsibility clauses in private and public sector contracts.183 All of the innovative models mentioned above are crucial for local development involving two million companies in Europe, representing 10% of all businesses in the EU and more than 11 million people (about 6% of the EU’s employees), and very often involving vulnerable citizens.

These initiatives should not be associated with the models of Amazon, Uber, Cabify or Airbnb that take advantage of transnationality and new technologies promoting practices that are unregulated and that can harm other groups or citizens’ rights (taxi drivers’ rights, decent jobs, housing scarcity, etc.). Cities are engaged in vociferous debates about the need to regulate their activities better (Paris, Barcelona, Berlin, Amsterdam, London and Milan, amongst other main cities).184 On another note, culture and creativity have also been connected to innovation in recent years as a guiding thread of prospering cities and regions in Europe. Local governments in Europe are working to boost the cultural and creative industries’ potential to generate jobs, wealth and cultural engagement.

Cities are creating new spaces or adapting old ones (city centres, redesigned factories, brownfield areas, etc. as through the IncrediBOL! project in Bologna), to build a supportive environment for these open-minded, adaptable and young industries that have managed to penetrate the arts, production, commerce and technology.185 Cultural and creative industries are a very important sector of the economy. They employ a large number of

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people (especially young creators), particularly through small and medium-sized businesses, and encourage collaboration between sectors and the digital revolution.

Strong commitment to fight climate change and strengthen resilience in cities and territories One of the major concerns of cities and regions in today’s Europe is the fight against climate change, various ecological crises and strengthening resilience. It is estimated that climate change could cause damage costing EUR 190 billion per year, mostly from heat-related deaths and losses in agriculture and coastal areas in the EU alone, by the end of the 21st century (taking a high economic growth scenario as the basis),187 and a loss of 1% of GDP by 2050 mostly from damages to the tourism and energy sectors in the Mediterranean countries.188 For this reason, European LRGs have strived to find the best solutions to the energy, mobility, waste management or circular economy challenges they face, amongst others, with specific emphasis on risk reduction and the achievement of resilient cities and territories. A growing number of cities such as Canterbury in the United Kingdom have declared local ‘climate emergencies’, committing themselves to strive for zero-carbon emissions and working with local CSOs, academia and other stakeholders to implement relevant SDG targets.

The EC adopted in November 2018 its ‘Strategic long-term vision for a prosperous, modern, competitive and climate neutral economy by 2050 — A Clean Planet for all’, which sets the framework for action in the future. 189 The EU has repeatedly acknowledged that European cities and regions have proven to

Box 6

Creative Cities' contribution to sustainability 186 As the Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor 2017 points out (a study that analyses 168 European cultural and creative cities of diverse demographic and economic characteristics), the ideal Cultural and Creative City in Europe would be a mix of eight cities which are mostly small and medium sized.

Thus, from the study, it would have the cultural venues and facilities of Cork, the cultural participation and attractiveness and the creative and knowledge-based jobs of Paris, the intellectual property and innovation of Eindhoven, the new jobs in creative sectors of Umeå, the human capital and education of Leuven, the openness, tolerance and trust of Glasgow, the local and international connections of Utrecht, and the quality of governance of Copenhagen.

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be important delivery agents for the European transition towards a more decentralized, energyefficient, decarbonized and resilient energy system. The European Covenant of Mayors,190 now gathering over 9,600 LRGs across 38 European countries, covers all the areas mentioned above and has brought high-impact results to Europe, thanks to the Sustainable Energy (and Climate) Action Plans that new signatories committed to.

This Covenant is one of the regional alliances within the Global Covenant of Mayors (gathering over 10,200 cities worldwide).

Cities play a major role in energy transition, both because they demand two-thirds of primary energy in the entire world and because they contribute with innovative solutions to these problems. As highlighted in Energy Cities,191 thermal renovation of buildings, the transition towards sustainable mobility and the development of proximity as the lynchpin of urban planning, are three actions that need to be tackled from the local level. The creation of synergies between urban and rural areas where the regions’ action is essential, as well as the use of new technologies (smart grids) to make energy production and consumption more efficient, are also critical.

According to EC estimates, buildings are currently responsible for 40% of the EU’s energy consumption and 36% of its CO2 emissions.192 European cities are characterized by quite a rigid, pre-existing urban fabric, with 42% of all

Box 7

Green Deals towards sustainable energy consumption in the Netherlands 212 In the Netherlands, the Dutch government (as a joint initiative by the Ministries of Economic Affairs, Infrastructure and the Environment, and the Interior and Kingdom Relations) has fostered Green Deals that is an innovative initiative fostered by a coalition of enterprises, CSOs and/or public administrations to design and implement innovative initiatives aimed at accelerating the transition to a sustainable economy.

To date, the results achieved with Green Deals include: 15,000 electric vehicle charging stations; 8,100 energy-efficient homes; more than 2,000 hectares of temporary nature in almost 30 areas; and construction of seven Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) stations and two LNG bunker stations. The province of Noord Holland, for example, has taken this opportunity to make its real-estate, infrastructure and 700+km of provincial roads completely circular in terms of replacement and maintenance with the support of the national government under the Green Deals Sustainable Groundwork and Waterworks of 2017. Similar initiatives exist in other countries (e.g. Flanders in Belgium, with seven Green Deals).

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buildings built before 1950. Often outdated building standards inhibit the use of new materials, and technological improvement is mainly done through renovation and retrofitting of existing infrastructure with a very low rate of replacement (London,193 the region of Jadranska Hrvatska in Croatia,194 Heidelberg in Germany195).

In this sense, several instances of best practice can be pointed out, such as the referendum for the remunicipalization of the energy distribution grids in Hamburg,196 and in Barcelona197 (along with other movements for the remunicipalization of basic public services such as water, energy, or currently free transport in Dunkirk198 and Tallinn199).

Likewise, several LRGs throughout Europe are getting at least 70% of their electricity from renewable sources such as hydro, geothermal, solar and wind, having abandoned other sources such as coal or lignite (from the Nordic countries – Reykjavík, Gladsaxe Kommune, Oslo, Bærum Kommunev, Arendal – and Switzerland – Basel, Nyon – to Portugal – Porto, Fafe, Moita, Cascais –, Italy – Oristano, Bolzano – and Romania – Alba-Iulia).200 Additionally, with the support of the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership or E5P,201 district heating projects have been implemented in several cities in Ukraine (Zhytomyr, Ternopil, Lviv), and Moldova (Balti), solid waste projects have been developed in Belarus (Puhovichi) and Ukraine (Lviv), and energy efficiency projects in public buildings have taken place in Ukraine (Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Zhytomy) and in Moldova (Chisinau), amongst many others.

Cities and regions in Europe are also fostering sustainable mobility to reduce CO2 emissions and improve air quality in urban areas.202 Transport and mobility today count for almost one quarter of Europe’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the demand is still increasing. The EU created a Strategy for Low Emission Mobility in 2016, together with the ‘Europe on the move’ package.203 Several measures aimed at increasing the sustainability of European transport systems have been adopted.

The strategy mainly targets the reduction of GHG emissions and incentives to drive the market towards clean mobility. At the city level, trafficfree zones have been designated in London,204 Lyon205 and Madrid;206 and car-free days in Paris,207 congestion-charging schemes in London208 and car, motorbike and bike-sharing systems in Milan,209 are all a reality. In Copenhagen the first ‘bicycle highway’ allows commuters to connect the central district with the periphery by bike. The region of Lombardy210 (Italy) has also contributed through the development of electric car-charging points.

The French region Auvergne Rhône-Alpes has set up a Zero Emission Valley programme.211

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Waste management strategies are also crucial to improve environmental sustainability (SDG 12.5) and citizens’ quality of life. Some innovative examples are the household waste selective collection as a pilot project in a neighbourhood in Barcelona,213 the Blue Box programme in the Waterloo Region,214 or the search for intelligent systems and innovative planning in the partners of the Interreg-funded WINPOL project215 (Gijon, Brussels, Anvers, Maribor, Mehedinti County, Drobeta Turnu Severin, Crete Region and the Environment Resources Authority of Malta).

These LRGs have contributed to the increase in the rates of municipal waste recycling (covering material recycling, composting and digestion of bio-waste),216 although the 50% recycling target by 2020 have only been achieved by six countries, and disparities between Member States are still very obvious: in Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands less than 5%; in Bulgaria and Greece up to 80%.217 The EU has placed the circular economy at the heart of its sustainability policies: the circular economy action plan adopted in 2015 sets out measures to change consumption and production patterns by focusing on the design of products, new rules for waste management and increasing consumer awareness.218 It also addresses two huge challenges in Europe: food waste and plastics.

Moreover, circular economy is one of the 12 priority themes of the Pact of Amsterdam to achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources of the 2030 Agenda (SDG 12.2).

The circular economy has been mainstreamed into strategic instruments: in pilot programmes such as the EIT Climate-KIC Orchestrated Innovation Ecosystem programme219 (with Malmö, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Sofia, Utrecht etc. as participating cities); in the federal constitution in Geneva;220 in different strategies in the Basque Country;221 in multi-stakeholder roadmaps in the Päijät-Häme region;222 and the Tampere region223 in Finland (shortlisted for the 2016 Guangzhou Award), among others.

Finally, cities and regions are key to achieving new and sustainable modes of production and consumption that contribute to reducing GHG emissions, amongst others. Amongst the main challenges, food production and consumption, particularly agrifood, is increasingly important.

Several city and regional networks have been established in recent years both at the national level (Sustainable Food Cities in the UK;224 Red de ciudades por la Agroecología in Spain;225 Rete Città Sane — OMS in Italy;226 the Dutch City Deal: Food on the Urban Agenda in the Netherlands;227 the German BioStädte network)228 and at European level (Agroecocities;229 ICLEI-RUAF CityFood network).230 One of the most meaningful initiatives is the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact,231 with 179 signatory cities since 2015 and 66 cities

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Following the remunicipalization trend to achieve more affordable and efficient public services, cities such as Budapest, Paris, Montpellier or Berlin, recovered the management of water supply, complemented with social inclusion policies. engaged in food policy city-to-city cooperation.

This represents an innovative planning strategy that integrates a food cycle system fostering reuse, recycling waste and reducing food miles through the promotion of local products. Based on the Québec Declaration of 2015, Regions France, with the support of UCLG, launched an initiative to foster a progressive reterritorialization of food systems, and improve local food production processes to protect and involve local communities, and promote food security and nutrition transition.232 Along with waste management, the supply of drinking water and sanitation (usually a local competence), as well as water management, are also high on the European agenda, particularly thanks to the European Citizen’s Right2water initiative that was endorsed by the European Parliament in 2013. This initiative called for the basic human right to access clean water and sanitation in a broad context of privatization and market competition for water supply.233 As a consequence, and following the remunicipalization trend to achieve more affordable and efficient public services, cities such as Budapest, Paris, Montpellier or Berlin, recovered the management of water supply,234 complemented with social inclusion policies (SDGs 1.4, 11.1), such as modification of fee structures (progressive rates in Grenoble, Hermosillo, Lisbon; special fees for persons with disabilities in Nantes); provision of economic support (social funds for residents of vulnerable areas in Grenoble and Malaga); prohibition of water supply disconnection (in Edinburgh and Glasgow); and other support measures to facilitate payment (for the poor community in Budapest).235 Resilience has been acknowledged by the 2030 Agenda in as many as eight targets related to infrastructure (9.1), agriculture (2.4), vulnerable citizens (1.5) and most particularly human settlements in the specific urban SDG 11, and resilient societies and territories are the main goal of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. Many initiatives have been developed

by LRG networks (e.g. ICLEI, UCLG), partners (100 Resilient Cities — 100RC) and UN agencies (UN

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Habitat resilience programme, UNDRR Making Cities Resilient Campaign) to raise awareness and provide tools, technical assistance, city-to-city support networks, and learning opportunities for disaster resilience-building. Local governments promote resilience and are mainstreaming resilience into the different plans adopted (e.g. in the province of Potenza,236 through the Territorial Coordination Plan); engaging citizens and local stakeholders in a participative manner (e.g. Bristol, through the Resilience Sounding Board and the involvement of over 1,600 people from across the city);237 and in monitoring (e.g. Lisbon,238 through the web dashboard with a GIS approach to centralizing data, or Stepanavan,239 through the Local Government Self-Assessment Tool).

Using a broader approach, the Swedish region Skåne addressed resilience-integrated challenges such as urbanization/depopulation, the use of new technologies, aging population and climate adaptation by involving a specific community of public and private stakeholders.240

Towards more inclusive cities and regions that 'leave no one behind' In 2017, there were more than 112.8 million people or 22.4% of the EU Member States’ populations at risk of poverty and social exclusion.241 The risk of poverty or social exclusion is particularly high in the Southern and Baltic countries and it is marginally higher in rural areas than urban areas (19.8% in rural areas, 16.7% in cities and 16.0% in towns or suburbs).242 Inequalities within and between cities and territories also have a bearing on social exclusion.243 Increasing socio-economic differences between metropolitan regions, middlesized cities, towns and rural regions contribute to aggravating disparities, eliciting migration to larger cities, and accelerating the marginalization of peoples and territories. While capital gains are concentrated in growing urban systems and economically dynamic regions, around 20% of European cities — mostly small and mediumsized, and often with aging populations — are being affected by shrinkage and decline, particularly in Eastern and South-eastern Europe, Baltic countries, and Western Spain.244 To face these challenges and advance policy and societal change, LRGs across Europe have sought to foster paradigm shifts in urban and territorial policies through new planning and regeneration policies, social inclusion, gender equality, alternative economic options (as mentioned above), housing, health or education, with a specific focus on the inclusion of vulnerable populations (disabled people, women, children, elderly, migrants).245 ‘Frontrunner’ cities facing shrinkage are developing fresh approaches to build on citizen commitment, generate new approaches to urban

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planning, design and management. Most EU policy instruments and state-level fiscal, regulatory and economic policies are designed not for shrinking but for growing cities. Cities promote ‘smart shrinking’, de-growing polices; regeneration of historic assets and landscapes; redevelopment of uninhabited spaces and brownfields in green spaces or new public cultural areas; adjustment and coproduction of services; more age-friendly welfare services; and develop contra-cyclical management, social economy alternatives, including urban farming, among others, based on meaningful collaboration between public agencies, businesses and citizens. Case studies show examples in cities such as Altena and Schönebeck (Germany), Riga (Latvia), Nord-Pas de Calais (France), County Louth (Ireland), and Glasgow (Scotland).246 Gender equality is at the centre of many local government policies in Europe. In 2006, CEMR launched the European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life, which currently has 1,777 LRG signatories in 36 countries. The charter gives information on how to mainstream gender in all public policies, and the related Observatory website highlights good practices in fields such as gender-responsive budgeting, urban planning, governance, adequate provision of basic services, countering gender violence, and raising awareness about harmful gender stereotypes.247 The Swedish city of Umeå, highlighted as an international model town for gender equality, continues to improve its Gendered Landscape Tour, which aims to show how working with gender equality takes form in a city.248 In the French region Île-de-France a vast communication campaign across the entire public transport network in the region was carried out in cooperation with Ile-de-France Mobilités, the Paris urban transit agency (RATP) and train companies (SNCF Transilien): ‘Never minimize sexual harassment: Victim or witness, speak up!’.249 A best practice publication by the Italian LGA AICCRE includes replicable examples in the fields of governance (a commission for equal opportunities in Imola), work-life balance (pilot project with 30 micro, small and medium enterprises — MSMEs in Milan and with 70 employees in Lazio region), awareness-raising (campaigns for the youth in Reggio Calabria), and gender violence (support centre in Chieri), among others.250 Although there are many accomplishments across Europe (higher figures for women in terms of holding a tertiary education certificate and lower rates of school drop-out), there remain many unresolved matters. These include the fact that women account for only 29% of the members of regional parliaments in the region, in some cases not being included at all (in five regional assemblies in Hungary, Italy and Romania, according to data from 2017).251 Many of these matters need to be tackled also

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at national level (i.e. the employment gap is still concerning across the EU with a difference of 11.5 percentage points in 2017).252 Lack of affordable housing and the accompanying rise in homeless people, especially among the young, has become an increasingly important challenge for cities as skyrocketing property and rental prices, speculation, housing exclusion and gentrification push neighbours towards the periphery, financing of social housing is scarce and territorial divide (to find adequate and affordable housing in places where job opportunities are) keeps growing (see Box 8).253 The EU average housing overburden rate has significantly increased among people at risk of poverty (from 35% in 2005 to 39.9% in 2014).256 The cooperation between LRGs and the national authorities has allowed the Irish National Asset Management Agency and local governments to identify 6,575 vacant units owned by the banks and allocate 2,526 of them for social housing purposes.257 Mechanisms are being developed at local level to ensure that a proportion of new affordable housing units will be dedicated for social purposes (at least 25% in London),258 going further than the national directives even (40% in Plaine Commune),259 and ensuring that no homeless family is left behind (Brno).260 After the worsening situation of the eviction crisis, many Spanish cities created specific offices aimed at mediating with banks or trying to put an end to evictions through different strategies (e.g.

Mostoles, Terrassa, Barcelona or Cadiz),261 while others such as Mataro have leveraged vacant private property to create affordable cooperative housing models. Many cities are pushing to regulate the rental urban markets to avoid rental bubbles (e.g. Berlin, Paris).

Health and care systems are central for social inclusion. The main challenges that currently affect Europe include the reduction of health and healthcare services in a number of territories (even creating medical ‘desert’ areas), or the significant increase of the prevalence of chronic non-contagious diseases.262 Inequalities in access to health services are evident between urban and rural areas,263 but also in cities, for example, life expectancy in London can vary by almost 20 years depending on where you live.264 Environmental problems in cities include air pollution (severe in Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria and the Southern regions of Europe); concentration of ground-level ozone (Italy, Spain, South and East of France, Southern Germany), or noise pollution (cities like Bucharest, Palermo, Athens).265 While LRG solutions, as underlined in the previous sub-section, contribute to a more sustainable environment, they also aim to achieve better health levels amongst the population through soft mobility, zero-emission zones (e.g. Oxford city centre),266 the building of

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Box 8

Cities for Adequate Housing Initiative 254 The worrying housing situation in Europe, together with the limited competences of LRGs in this field, led the city of Barcelona and others, with the support of UCLG, to bring to the 2018 High-Level Political Forum of the UN (HLPF) a firm pledge for the Right to Housing in the form of the Declaration ‘Cities for Adequate Housing’. A growing number of cities have committed to promoting renewed housing strategies, and to do so according to social inclusion and human rights standards, seeking to overcome the obstacles to the realization of the right to housing, such as the lack of national funding, market deregulation and housing commodification.

Work has not stopped here, and UCLG and participating cities such as Vienna, Barcelona or the periphery of Paris, are collaborating to find more inclusive housing policies. The Urban Agenda for the EU Partnership on Housing in 2019 published its action plan, which provides best practice and recommendations to EU, national and local authorities on better regulation, funding and knowledge.255

new green areas (e.g. Vienna or Freiburg), or the construction of parks, playgrounds, sports fields and cemeteries (e.g. covering 40% of the city by 2035 in Hamburg).267 For 30 years, the World Health Organization (WHO) European Healthy Cities Network has brought together some 100 flagship cities and approximately 30 national networks. In February 2018, the Copenhagen Consensus of Mayors: Healthier and Happier Cities for All268 was adopted to mark a transformative approach towards building safe, inclusive, sustainable and resilient societies in line with the 2030 Agenda.269 A public health problem related to risk prevention in urban areas is road accidents (SDGs 3.6, 11.2).270 It has been proved that those cities with low traffic speeds and good public transportation systems have far fewer road fatalities than those where the use of private cars is still widespread (i.e. below ten per million in Stockholm and Vienna in 2015).

As stated in Section 2, LRGs play an important role in education in many European countries. In this sense, many local governments offer quality education from pre-school age (SDG 4.2).271 They have also achieved a noteworthy reduction of early school leaving (SDG 4.1), although figures are still higher in rural areas (12.4%) than in towns and suburbs (11.9%) or cities (10%).272 Cities are developing initiatives to face these challenges as well as tackle education segregation, particularly affecting minorities (e.g. Roma children) or children with migrant background.273

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To address the needs of children and the elderly, particularly in territories with aging urban population,274 cities are redesigning public space to be age-friendly (e.g. Ljubljana),275 as well as to facilitate the inclusion of persons with disabilities (e.g. Lausanne Plan on Accessibility; Middelburg and Veere local implementation of the Covenant on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; Budapest plan on accessible public space and transportation for people with disabilities). 276 LRGs also play a major role in the settlement and integration of migrants and refugees.277 Their actions are fundamental to achieve SDG 10.7 and the ambitious Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration adopted in late 2018 by the UN.278 Since 2014, LRGs have been acquiring importance at the EU level as more pragmatic and results-oriented actors in the fields of migration and integration. CEMR and the European Public Services Union (EPSU),

Box 9

LRG initiatives for the integration of immigrants and refugees The Eurocities Migration and Integration Working Group, as well as the CEMR Task Force on Refugees and Migrants, work to ensure local experiences are central to the drafting of the EU migration and integration policies. In 2015 and 2016, CEMR published a Call for a Common Real Asylum Policy287 and a Resolution for a Common European Asylum Policy at all levels of government.288 In 2018, the OECD, in collaboration with other partners and LRGs, launched a publication called, ‘Working Together for Local Integration of Migrants and Refugees’, aimed at identifying the challenges of LRGs in the field of migrant and refugee integration.289 Solidarity Cities is an initiative on the management of the refugee crisis proposed by the Mayor of Athens.290 It seeks to constitute a framework under which all cities’ actions and initiatives are presented in terms of the political leadership of cities addressing the crisis. Eurocities also participates in the Research Social Platform on Migration and Asylum (RESOMA) project, a unique partnership of European civil society and local authority organizations, think-tanks and research networks seeking to create opportunities for consultation and provides policy expertise. The European Committee of the Regions, in coordination with the main networks of LRGs in Brussels, launched in 2019 an initiative called ‘Cities and Regions for Integration’, aimed at raising the political profile of this topic from an urban perspective, and scaling-up good practices.291 Also in 2019, the EC continued to support LRG networks working on the integration of refugees and migrants by supporting the IncluCities project, a CEMR-led initiative seeking to strengthen cooperation between middle-sized cities (with varying levels of experience in the field) on integration, and in close cooperation with LGAs.

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representing respectively the employers and employees of LRGs in the European Social Dialogue, endorsed ‘Joint Guidelines on Migration and Strengthening Anti-Discrimination in Local and Regional Governments’, which were updated in 2016. The objective was to provide a framework for action in local and regional public authorities. 279 The December 2016 European Council Conclusions on the integration of third country nationals legally residing in the EU,280 as well as the Action Plan on the integration of thirdcountry nationals of the EU,281 explicitly reinforced the strategic role of the local level. The Action Plan on integration also encouraged Member State efforts ‘strengthening communication between local, regional and national levels’, introducing instruments such as the European Integration Network, to which selected cities, together with Eurocities and CEMR, were invited in March 2017.282 In 2017, the Mechelen Conference ‘Cities and Migration’ explored the links between local government and human rights agendas with regards to migration.283 Initiatives on this topic range from local government services of attention, welcome and advice for irregular migrants, to local programmes on the right to work and capacity-building for migrants and refugees (as was implemented by Vienna).284 Other local governments have addressed this issue via initiatives on migrant participation in public life (Grenoble).285 Finally, recent years have also seen a rise in the number of cities to declare themselves ‘sanctuary’ or ‘refugee’ cities, such as Bristol, in the United Kingdom, Valencia, in Spain or Napoles, in Italy (see Box 9). 286 Anti-rumour networks in Amadora,292 the Refugee Taskforce in Ghent,293 (which has been acknowledged as the URBACT Good Practice ‘Refugee Solidarity’), or the Finding Places project to identify locations for accommodating around 20,000 refugees in Hamburg, have proven highly successful and brought together the public administration, the social organizations and the citizenship.294 Decentralized cooperation has also focused on migration issues as shown by the successful Mediterranean City-to-City Migration Project (MC2CM), which since 2015 has worked with Amman, Beirut, Lisbon, Lyon, Madrid, Tangiers, Tunis, Turin and Vienna to increase the knowledge base on urban migration, and the Urban Innovative Actions of the EU, which has funded several projects in the field of integration of refugees and migrants.295 Indeed, the commitment of ‘leaving no one behind’ underlines the role cities and regions play in the achievement of human rights, equality, non-discrimination and dignity. Many cities and regions have come out to defend the rights of migrants, the value of local diversity, the need for better housing and basic services for all persons

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and, in essence, the human rights of each and every person in Europe and beyond (see Box 10).

Enhancing good urban and territorial governance to 'leave no territory behind' Good governance has become a priority for most LRGs in Europe considering as noted by the EC, poor performance is an obstacle for sustainable development.300 More sustainable territorial governance, transparency, citizen participation, co-production, use of new technologies have been prioritized for some years by LRGs to offer better public services and policies to their constituencies (SDGs 16.6, 16.7).

As underlined in previous sections, LRGs are increasingly recognized as being key to regional and local governance. However, this is not always accompanied with the appropriate institutional and financial architecture to enable them to fulfil their role (see Section 2.2.). This is reflected in the growing inequalities between territories related to the need to strengthen territorial cohesion policies, improve integrated governance of metropolitan areas, and better support middlesized cities (that host 42% of the urban population in Europe), particularly those suffering shrinkage, and reverse the desertification of rural areas in several countries. Nonetheless, EU regional policies and the EU Urban Agenda do emphasize the opportunities that exist in harnessing complementarities between different levels of government and territories to promote more balanced territorial and urban systems. In this regard, the Pact of Amsterdam was an important step in terms of good governance, promoting collaborative dynamics and exchanges to develop concrete initiatives related to urban development.

Consequently, several multi-stakeholder partnerships launched to develop joint initiatives at the EU level have had a strong impact on cities in areas such as urban poverty, housing, mobility or energy transition.301 Increasingly, urban and territorial management requires strong vertical and horizontal cooperation. Section 2.3 showed different examples of vertical cooperation and multilevel governance bodies that coordinate a wide range of policies and strategies between the national, regional and local levels to embrace the 17 SDGs, and particularly SDG 11. Concerning horizontal cooperation, inter-municipal cooperation is one of the most widespread expressions and has been significantly enhanced in recent years. This takes different forms in public service delivery, socio-economic development, planning and governance. From voluntary agreements, such as multi-purpose cooperative agreements, common committees, joint projects, etc. to mandatory entities such as supramunicipal authorities with delegated functions, including some own-source

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Box 10

European Charter for the Safeguarding of Human Rights in the City 296 In 1998, on the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Conference Cities for Human Rights network was created in Barcelona. Hundreds of mayors participated in the event and together called for a stronger political acknowledgement as key actors in safeguarding human rights. Twenty years later, in 2018, Barcelona, Athens, Saint Dennis, Cádiz, Naples, Tunis and Seattle, together with local stakeholders, shared experiences at the Conference Cities 4 Rights to promote human rights and global justice and fight against hate and extremisms from the local level.

However, these are not the only occasions where LRGs have proved their commitment and involvement in the achievement of human rights. The European Coalition of Cities Against Racism,297 the Agenda 21 for Culture,298 or the Intercultural Cities Programme,299 fostered by the Council of Europe, all support cities in appraising the values underlying diversity and inter culturalism by applying a human rights-based approach to their strategies and daily actions.

tax (e.g. EPCI à fiscalité propre in France). In some countries (France, Portugal, Spain), the majority of municipalities are engaged in different modalities of inter-municipal cooperation entities. In Italy, Iceland or Greece cooperation is compulsory for smaller municipalities.302 A key dimension of horizontal cooperation is rural-urban partnerships (or rural urban continuum) that cover a complex and diverse spectrum of interactions and relationships and make both areas increasingly integrated and mutually reliant. Different studies underline examples of cities and territories that are fostering initiatives to manage such linkages for improved regional development. Middle-sized cities and towns are key players in strengthening these ruralurban alliances. Many regions and cities in France, for example, are fostering local food production involving peri-urban areas and rural communities to ensure more sustainable food systems (see earlier examples in the Sub-section on climate change). Cities have achieved a medium-scale service-based economy through the provision of cheaper, more efficient services to their urban and rural communities, such as in Jyvaskyla and Saarijarvi-Viitasaari (Finland), mainly down to new technologies; or in West Pomerania (Poland), through more efficient waste management.

Additionally, the Barcelona Provincial Council is leading the Barcelona Smart Rural project in the non-metropolitan area which seeks to support rural municipality development by using innovation and specialization.

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Successful partnerships such as these call into question the effectiveness of existing policies and governance institutions, and the need for effective mechanisms and policies to maximize impact.303 Governments have recently focused on increasing transparency as one of the pillars of good governance and one of the main principles of the 2030 Agenda, to counter corruption, tax competition and tax evasion. One way to increase transparency and foster greater public understanding of the government’s work has been the digitalization of services to streamline red tape procedures for stakeholders and citizens.

This can be seen in the Stockholm region’s newly digitalized e-Government with ‘real’ e-services,304 or the region of Flanders saving EUR 100 million after a EUR 2 million investment305 based on its Flanders Radically Digital strategy.306 Open portals where local stakeholders and citizens can access all relevant public information have been developed widely in cities such as Amsterdam or Helsinki and have facilitated interaction with the local governments in Lisbon or Murcia, amongst others, thus making the local level more responsible and accountable. 307 Digitalization has also helped make public procurement (a field that can be prone to corruption) more accessible and transparent through open platforms and the growing obligation to submit tenders online. 308 Moreoever, public procurement has become greener and more socially responsible as practices are increasingly widespread amongst European LRGs that foster environmental, social and economic benefits while driving private companies towards sustainability. This progressive shift to greener, fairer and more transparent procurement procedures has been made possible mainly by the new European legislative framework defined by the 2014 Directives on public procurement,309 and the Regulation on the European Single Procurement Document.310 Barcelona has its own sustainable public procurement plan;311 Manchester made USD 85 million in efficiency savings and created 1,500 jobs;312 Lublin has fostered the participation of local companies in their tenders;313 and Koszalin has embedded knowledge around non-price criteria into their procurement processes.314 Fostering public participation, engagement and commitment is one of the most important pillars of good local governance that goes beyond responding to citizens’ queries. It involves citizen and stakeholder co-creation of the territories through participative sessions (as in Rome,315 or Hamburg316). These can be live, online or a combination of both in a bottom-up approach.

Participatory planning (Ostrava,317 Korneuburg318), and participatory budgeting (Tartu319), are more and more becoming an essential tool to adapt LRG decisions to citizens’ needs (including, for

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example, the needs of children, as in Esplugues de Llobregat).320 Local governments even become experimental laboratories to test new strategies, approaches and services (Helsinki321). Meanwhile local stakeholders, together with the public administration, co-manage the common goods (as is the case for 189 Italian local governments, e.g. Bologna or Trento, which have adopted specific regulations with the support of the NGO Labsus adapted to each territory’s needs). 322 While many examples of best practice can be seen in the EU, for the Western Balkan LRGs, reform of the public administration and the strengthening of governance is still urgently needed – in fact, the EU has said that for these countries joining the EU will be contingent on reform. To achieve fully digitalized and modernized LRGs in Europe, supplementary coordination efforts between all tiers of government will be necessary,323 as acknowledged by the EU eGovernment Action Plan 2016-2020. 324 Nonetheless, this is just one area where multilevel coordination is pivotal to better tackling the local and regional dimension of policies and legislation.

The localization of the SDGs and strengthening the quality of local democracy via better ownership of policies by citizens requires a permanent update of the tools and mechanisms that are used to involve citizens in the decision-making process.

More and more municipalities are improving their day-to-day mechanisms for citizens’ participation, both online and offline, to better deliver, as well as enhance, ownership and accountability. Initiatives such as the Barcelona decideix, or the Consul platform,325 as well as participative budgeting initiatives, are online and offline tools that allow citizens to propose actions and initiatives to be addressed by the municipalities, as well as improve city councils’ consultation of citizens.

Since good governance is an essential element of the development of the territories, LRGs need still to boost new practices that continually improve the culture of public administration and management. While much has been done to date in terms of more sustainable public procurement, corruption control, digitalization of public services and an increase in citizen participation, transparency and accountability, mainstreaming these good practices in an integral way in the organization will be essential.

This will allow better services for the citizenship and local stakeholders that will result in a positive impact in all spheres of sustainability: economic, social and environmental. In this sense, LRGs need to continue to foster multilevel and multi-stakeholder governance mechanisms (inter-municipal cooperation included) that allow for a more appropriate urban and territorial management, especially for those phenomena that go beyond administrative units.

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04. Conclusions and policy recommendations: the state of SDG localization in Europe This publication has provided an overview of the extent to which there is a national enabling environment for SDG implementation in Europe, including the degree of LRG engagement in this process and of cooperative multilevel governance partnerships at national and European level. Most countries have set up national SDG focal points and, up to 2019, 37 have submitted VNRs to the UN. However, the extent of LRG involvement in these practices is still limited and requires improvement.

LRG actions can accelerate SDG implementation. In Europe, LRGs have been particularly active in the localization of the 2030 Agenda, taking the lead in different areas such as climate action, social inclusion, inclusive and circular economy development, and urban and territorial governance. As the level of government closest to their citizens, they are taking measures to tackle increasing inequalities and environmental challenges, strengthening cooperation between and within territories (e.g. inter-municipal cooperation, urban-rural partnerships). Policies to combat social segregation or discrimination, and for the achievement of gender equality and higher educational, health and healthcare standards have been a priority for European LRGs. They are strengthening the involvement of civil society, business sector, social partners and academia to co-create sustainable alternatives. Many LRGs are also starting the reflection process on how to incorporate the SDGs into their decentralized cooperation, the 2030 Agenda being perceived as a means to transform and rethink long-lasting international partnerships around a common language found in the SDGs. The report also stresses the important role of LRG networks and LGAs, at both the European and national level. They have been strong catalysts of the localization process, informing citizens, raising awareness, engaging their members in SDG implementation, facilitating the exchange of knowledge, information and experience, allowing for experimentation, and influencing major European political initiatives.

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The engagement of LRGs varies considerably, however, between countries, and particularly between Northern and Western European countries on the one hand, and Central and South-eastern countries on the other. Institutional frameworks, and the decentralization processes in particular, have had a direct impact on these trends. Since 1985, the European Charter of Local Self-Government has been ratified by all 47 Member States of the Council of Europe.

Decentralization has been progressing in almost all countries. However, the policy response and reforms that followed the global crisis of 20082009 — and subsequent national austerity measures — have impacted decentralization trends to varying degrees. Consequently, while the concept of sustainability is widely accepted, the current state of fiscal autonomy of LRGs does limit their room for manoeuvre for the full realization of SDG localization efforts.

Despite restrictive budgetary policies, LRGs continue to be an important public investor (51.6% of total public investment in EU countries in 2017), and their actions are critical to comply with the SDG principle of ‘leaving no one and no place behind’. However, their actions need to be facilitated by an adequate collaborative multilevel governance framework and better integrated policies at all levels: local, regional, national and European. In more decentralized countries, dialogue and collaboration between the different levels of government are embedded in the institutions as well as in practices (culture of collaboration). In those countries that are less decentralized, collaboration with LRGs, considered

LRG actions need to be facilitated by an adequate collaborative multilevel governance framework and better integrated policies at local, regional, national and European levels.

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either insufficient or unsatisfactory, must improve.

Likewise, financial support for decentralized development cooperation varies from one Member State to another, whereas international cooperation is recognized as a means to achieve the SDGs, i.e. in the case of SDG 17.

LRG differ also in their approach with regard to monitoring and reporting. Frontrunning cities and regions that enjoy more autonomy and resources have either already established or are trying to establish various monitoring instruments.

Reporting on SDG implementation from the subnational level is key to capitalizing on results, strengthening coordination with the national level and European institutions, as well as fostering transparency and accountability towards citizens and local stakeholders.

European States and institutions are politically committed to implementing the objectives of sustainable development but rely as much on their national administrative structures as they do on decentralized governments. Countries that have strong decentralized structures tend to be at the forefront of SDG implementation, thanks to persisting multilevel governance approaches and strong commitment from their territories and cities.

Therefore, it is important that the territorial dimension is taken into account in the sustainable development strategies of the various actors concerned. In this regard, the Partnership Principle, introduced in the EU cohesion policy to ensure cooperation of the relevant actors, including LRGs, is an important element. The EU post-2020 cohesion policy should strengthen this approach, ensuring enhanced financing and tailored instruments for SNGs to develop and implement local and territorial strategies, share knowledge and experience and support capacitybuilding of local and regional administrations.326 The territorial dimension of relevant policies and their consistency with the SDGs, the compliance and complementarity of instruments and multi-source funding, include detailed measures for specific territorial challenges, provide for capacity-building, and adopt a nuanced approach to conditionality and European Territorial Cooperation. The SDGs, moreover, can also provide an overarching set of objectives to replace the current Europe 2020 goals.327 Policy alignment should not only be applied to domestic policies, but also to EU’s international trade agreements and development cooperation policies. LRGs are concerned as providers of public services and purchasers of goods and services, and they are engaged in decentralized cooperation. As such, they can play a greater role in the localization processes of partnering countries. Similarly, at the national level of European countries, the process of drawing up the VNR as part of the monitoring mechanism should be able to stimulate greater local-national cooperation.

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Based on these considerations, the following recommendations are inspired (extracted and adapted by the authors of this report) by different contributions developed by CEMR, PLATFORMA, the Committee of the Regions (CoR), the European multi-stakeholder platform on SDGs and its sub-group on 'SDGs at local and regional level', to support the mainstreaming of the SDGs and their localization:328 • As required by the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament, the Committee of the Regions, as well as LRGs, their associations and social partners, the SDGs need to be mainstreamed in EU strategies and policies. Therefore, the European Commission should draft an EU Strategy for Sustainable Europe 2030 and an Action Plan for its implementation, ‘including a territorial approach for the delivery of the SDGs’.329 The SDGs should be seen as a tool and visionary compass to do things differently and focus on sustainable development with the necessary urgency.

• The Action Plan should ensure strong EU institutional commitment, encompassing all relevant policy fields, providing ambitious policy objectives and targets with clear connections to the SDGs and other global agendas. The SDGs should be the guiding objectives for the new European Parliament and new European Commission and be reflected in the work and priorities of their five-year mandate (20192024). This applies in particular to the future cohesion policies, including urban and rural policies, and the allocation of budgets (e.g. energy and climate, environmental, industry, external — including development — policy, research and innovation, gender equality).

The EU should apply an integrated approach and transcend sectoral silos in the European Commission services.

• The overarching Strategy and Action Plan should be developed together with LRGs and civil society organizations (CSOs). SDG 17 is a key parameter for the success of the 2030 Agenda.

• Cohesion policy is the core EU investment instrument for regions and cities to implement the SDGs and the EU Urban Agenda; to ensure territorial development and policy coherence; reduce the economic, social and territorial divide; and make sure that no one and no place are left behind. More balanced regional and urban development requires that the next period of EU cohesion policy (2021-2027) and the EU Structural and Investment Funds are better aligned with the SDGs and the EU Urban Agenda, and support regions and cities to ‘localize the SDGs’.

• Many LRGs networks, regions and cities have been pioneers in the localization process.

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•

•

•

•

Nevertheless, their involvement needs to be boosted across all of Europe. Limited LRG interest and awareness is stressed as the most important challenge to make progress. LRG organizations need support to accelerate awareness-raising efforts, facilitate learning and regular exchange of experiences, and stimulate municipalities, cities and regions to take action to achieve the SDGs. Localization of the SDGs is a political process that includes empowering LRGs to take action in all stages of the SDG implementation process — in the design, shaping, implementation, monitoring, reporting and evaluation process.

LRGs should not be seen as mere implementers, but as policy-makers. National and EU support with adequate policy and financing instruments are critical to promote sustainable territorial development, especially for LRGs with low capacity or severe financial constraints.

SDG implementation requires adaptation of related policy strategies, legal and regulatory frameworks to support high but achievable ambitions, ensuring cross-scale integration and the design of mutually supportive and cohesive policies namely at European, national, and sub-national levels. This should include effective decentralization, adequate financial support and territorial development policies to foster mixed bottom-up and topdown approaches to accelerate pace and reach the targets set out in the sustainable goals in time.

Multilevel dialogue and vertical and horizontal cooperation at all levels of governance is critical to ensure localization. The partnership principle should guide the relations between the different levels of governance – European institutions, national and sub-national governments. At European level, the concept of the Urban Agenda for the EU, fostering the cooperation between all levels of government, could inspire the governance of the future EU Strategic Agenda 2019-2024. At national level, multilevel governance mechanisms and forums need be strengthened.

Existing efforts of LRGs and their organizations to develop knowledge-sharing, exchange of practices and experiences, technical assistance and cooperation between municipalities and regions in Europe, as well in partner countries worldwide is a lever to promote the localization of the SDGs. This should be promoted by political dialogue, adoption of the TALD approach and mainstreaming of LRGs in geographic and thematic programmes under national and EU development cooperation policies, including the post-Cotonou partnership currently being negotiated. Decentralized cooperation by LRGs has an important role to play and a specialized EU budget line for decentralized

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It is critical to ensure that the territorial dimension is taken into account in the formulation of sustainable development strategies.

•

•

•

•

cooperation and other LRG cooperation activities with partner countries needs to be maintained and strengthened to support the localization agenda. The EU and its Member States should work more closely with LRGs, recognized as key development cooperation players, in the joint programming process in partner countries.

LRG involvement in the national reporting and coordination mechanisms for the implementation of the SDGs is one example of where improvements are needed (LRGs in 60% and 50% of the 37 countries that reported to the HLPF were involved in national reporting and coordination mechanisms, respectively).

Limited support from national governments is perceived by LRGs to be one of the most serious problems. EU and national governments should pay more attention to engaging LRGs and other stakeholders when reporting about the SDGs, particularly for the VNRs. Monitoring the implementation of the SDGs calls for the development of localized indicators and disaggregating data at regional and local level. Pioneering regions and cities are making progress, but more joint efforts involving all levels of government and local partners are necessary to build adequate local monitoring systems compatible with national and Europeans ones. Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) contributing to national monitoring and to the global debate, and promoting knowledge-sharing and emulation between LRGs, could be an opportunity worth pursuing.

Partnership, participation and empowerment of civil society, private sector, social partners and academia are core values of sustainable development to co-create solutions to achieve the SDGs while striking the right balances in the inevitable trade-offs. A territorial approach is one of the levers to ensure stronger involvement of civil society, social partners, business sector and public institutions.

To ensure multi-stakeholder dialogue at the EU level, the European multi-stakeholder platform on the SDGs should become a permanent advisory body to contribute to the development of an overarching EU Strategy for Sustainable Europe 2030, to monitor its implementation and the impact of EU policies and to share good practice and knowledge.

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05. Policy recommendations at the global level

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Our roadmap to accelerate the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the localization of the SDGs

The transformation that needs to be brought about to achieve the global agendas will only occur if our development model responds to the dreams and expectations of communities, and if there is collective responsibility to make the necessary adjustments and sacrifices to achieve more equitable, fair and sustainable societies.

The global agendas must either be local or they simply will not be. The constituency of local and regional governments (LRGs) has a critical role to play to catalyse change and provide the kind of service delivery that will deliver inclusion, efficient use of resources and sustainability. This LRG constituency shares the sense of urgency to scaleup and accelerate such a transformation.

The findings of the GOLD V Report have inspired policy recommendations that build upon the ‘Bogota Commitment and Action Agenda’

adopted by the World Organization of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) in 2016, as well as the annual reports of the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments to the UN HighLevel Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) since 2017.

In a context of increasing inequalities, endangerment of ecosystems and tensions that are threatening human solidarity, the GOLD V Report presents the efforts of a key constituency that serves communities responding to their needs and hopes. It is a positive message about the impact that well-resourced localization can have in a new vision for the sustainability of our planet.

The recommendations are addressed to local and regional leaders and their organizations, to our partners, national governments, international organizations, civil society and social actors, as well as to the business sector.

Local and regional governments lead the way towards a more equal and sustainable world In the globalized urbanization era, the actions of cities and LRGs are integral to the global agendas: it is at the local level that the interrelationship between the different agendas most clearly manifests itself. With regard to the global agendas, getting the 2030 Agenda commitments right necessitates the full implementation of the principles of the New Urban Agenda and

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the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, that in turn are fundamental to changing the patterns of production and consumption as the basic premise of the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The following recommendations situate the LRGs as drivers of an alternative territorial approach to development (TALD).

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Actions at local and regional levels Galvanize forces for the localization of the 2030 Agenda in our cities and territories LRGs and their global and regional organizations have pioneered the localization of the SDGs. To make the ‘quantum leap’ currently needed they must: • Adopt the SDGs as a reference framework for LRGs' policies, programming, planning and budgets, ensuring a coherent and integrated approach — mindful of the Paris Climate Agreement,the Sendai Framework and empowered by the principles of the New Urban Agenda.

• Embolden ambitions by fostering greater ownership of the communities and attain real local buy-in of policies. Co-creation with other local stakeholders will be critical in the definition, implementation and assessment of the localization process.

• Share and learn: participate in LRG networks and invest in peer-to-peer knowledge-sharing, practice exchange and training. Fostering and accessing technical assistance and decentralized cooperation to promote the localization of the SDGs will be key.

• Link with science: serve as catalyser to foster partnerships with research institutions and promote ‘labs’ to experiment with innovative ways to implement, review and follow-up the localization process.

Protect the commons, human rights and culture as foundations of peace The preservation of the global commons (biodiversity, land, atmosphere, oceans) that determine the survival of all living beings, as well as the protection of peace, cultural diversity and human rights, require strong local action and LRGs’ commitment to:

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• Foster an ecological and systemic relationship between people and nature. LRGs must support cohesion of the ‘urban-rural continuum’ and strengthen the interconnected policies that halt deforestation and desertification; effectively manage the current network of protected areas, including terrestrial, freshwater (both surface and ground) and marine areas; and improve human wellbeing, particularly of indigenous populations and communities whose livelihoods depend on forests, water and soil conservation and climate change mitigation.

• Achieve climate neutrality in cities and territories, taking into account the life-long cycle of GHG emissions to proactively tackle the climate emergency. Decoupling socio-economic development from environmental degradation calls for well-planned urban development and land management, responsible and fair management of natural resources and waste, and ensuring the reduction of inequalities. It implies divesting from fossil fuels to free up resources. These can in turn be invested to accelerate scaling-up the protection of most vulnerable populations and ecosystems, and offsetting any emissions that cannot be further reduced or avoided.

• Contribute to holding global warming to 1.5ºC by the end of the 21st century, through the collective definition of Territorially Determined Contributions (TDCs) feeding into the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for the implementation of the provisions of the Paris Climate Agreement. Support the post-2020 negotiation of the global biodiversity framework, as well as the Convention on Wetlands of International and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

• Promote peace and city diplomacy by tackling the roots of local violence, educating for its eradication and to create a mindset that makes it possible to build a culture of dialogue in cities and territories. Foster cities and territories as spaces for co-existence and peace through measures that fight interpersonal violence, extremism, racism, xenophobia, gender-based violence and other forms of intolerance, and introduce measures to integrate all citizens.

• Promote culture as the fourth pillar of development and as a core component of local identity, a strand of global solidarity, and a vector for peace and human rights.

Foster locally relevant cultural policies and programmes on memory, heritage, creativity, diversity and knowledge as intrinsic to local sustainable development.

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Put human rights and the ‘Right to the City’ at the core of the local agendas – strengthen inclusive local policies to ‘leave no one behind’ Given its multiple dimensions, the eradication of extreme poverty is inextricably linked to the protection of human rights. LRGs should put the ‘Right to the City’ at the centre of urban and territorial governance to ensure universal access to quality basic services, nutritious food, health and education, economic opportunities, access to adequate housing and disaster risk prevention for the most vulnerable. These are essential components of territorialized propoor policies. Partnerships with communities and community-based organisations are instrumental to create alternative solutions, particularly where public services are scarcely delivered. LRGs should commit to: • Remove any discriminatory legal and social policy at the local level to ensure equal opportunities for all, particularly for women, indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities, the LGBTQIA+ populations, the elderly, the youth, and people with mental and physical disabilities.

Facilitate migrants and refugees access to rights and services regardless of their status.

• Tackle gender-based discrimination and violence with tailored policies, budgets and legal reforms. LRGs can raise awareness and reinforce education on the changing conception of gender roles. Women must be equally represented and granted equal powers in decision-making forums. It is necessary to enact gender-sensitive policies in territories that promote equal access to health and education and acknowledge the role of women in the domestic and informal economy. Gender equality has a multiplier effect in advancing sustainable development, environmental protection and social justice.

• Support the fulfilment of the right to adequate housing for all, which includes affordability, legal security of tenure, habitability, accessibility and cultural adequacy standards and must be understood within the framework of the ‘Right to the City’. Promote inclusionary housing policies and slum upgrading initiatives that are undertaken in partnership with the communities and seek to avoid forced evictions.

• Promote the Principles of Open Government as a tool for the improvement of policy ownership and accountability. Create spaces and mechanisms that favour citizen participation

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in local decision-making, access to information and communities’ ownership of the 2030 Agenda and other global agendas.

Harness the co-creation of cities and territories through sustainable participative urban and land planning Planning needs to be the result of the political, economic and social systems within which it is embedded. Deep reforms on planning regulations and frameworks are a critical part of SDG localization and the New Urban Agenda. This includes the need to produce qualified professional planners and researchers.

By renewing participatory urban and spatial planning, LRGs should: • Adopt an integrated planning approach, as reflected in the New Urban Agenda, to strengthen the inclusive dimension of cities, climate adaptation and mitigation and disaster risk prevention strategies, and multiply the benefits of interlinkages between urban and territorial areas. Inclusive and participatory planning are key levers for the co-creation of sustainable and inclusive cities and territories.

• Build capacities and retain local expertise to address rapid urbanization with adapted approaches to reduce urban sprawl and avoid costlier retrofitting. Most urgent actions are needed in regions where rapid urban growth will be concentrated (Sub-Saharan Africa and South and South-East Asia).

• Scale-up efforts to build urban resilience and disaster risk preparation, involving local communities, particularly vulnerable groups, in particular in coastal cities and Small Developing Island States (SIDS).

• Contribute to promoting ‘polycentric’ urban development to reduce core-periphery divides, promote more compact and socialmix neighbourhoods, reduce inequalities and avoid urban segregation.

• Create or preserve open public spaces to boost inclusion and protect urban heritage and culture, while also pursuing innovative solutions to foster creativity for sustainable urban development.

• Curb urban sprawl, reduce distance between home and work places to reduce commuting times and encourage access to alternative and safe modes of mobility (including walkable cities) to reduce GHG emissions. Urban and

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spatial planning can lead to transformative use of renewable energy, and reduce the ecological footprint of cities and territories, greening public infrastructure and spaces, reducing air and waste pollution, and reducing risks such as floods, drought or urban heat island effects.

• Improve relationships with the surrounding peri-urban and rural areas, avoid land degradation, and improve food security and farmers’ livelihoods.

• Enhance the management of natural protected areas and ecosystem services, such as upstream watershed areas that the city relies on for fresh water supply, and support reforestation.

Improve access to sustainable and inclusive public services in cities and territories LRGs need to develop an integrated and systemic approach that will guarantee universal reach. This includes universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation, to quality education and health, to public affordable and sustainable mobility, to integrated waste management and to affordable and clean energy. LRGs need to: • Develop infrastructure plans alongside urban land-use plans, including long-term investment strategies to guide economic and spatial expansion, especially where there are pressures for growth.

• Reduce the environmental impact of urban infrastructures and contribute to communities’ resilience.

• Support inter-municipal cooperation or specific mechanisms that guarantee collaborations to ensure full coverage and adequate quality delivery in territories, be it in metropolitan areas, cities or peri-urban areas, or between neighbouring municipalities in rural areas.

• Guarantee access to affordable services exploring new universal models of service co-production, taking advantage of new decentralized technologies; support smallscale businesses as basic service providers and improve the quality oversight of services; and gradually insert the informal economy into the organization of public service delivery.

• Improve the management, delivery and transparency of public basic services, and facilitate innovative partnerships for coproduction and co-management.

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Focus on the future of jobs and local economic development (LED) It is now urgent to steer a course away from the patterns of economic growth, consumption and production of goods and services that perpetuate deprivations, generate inequalities, deplete the global commons and threaten to cause irreversible damage to the environment.

LRGs should therefore: • Promote LED that helps generate sustainable socio-economic development tailored to the particular needs and contexts of cities and territories, and ensure decent work and respect for responsible sustainability standards.

• Prioritize quality local employment, as a right, and tailor fully-fledged policies responsive to the barriers faced by and vulnerabilities of specific groups, including women, youth, ethnic and religious minorities or people with disabilities among others; likewise find inclusive solutions to involve migrants regardless of their status; and facilitate intergenerational knowledge transfers to preserve, disseminate and evolve local know-how and crafts.

• Create spaces for local innovation in order to nurture and scale-up local capacities, including those enabled by technology and naturebased industries; develop synergies with local initiatives; support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that contribute to sustainable growth and to create employment in their local environments, give impulse to productive clusters and cooperative strategies both within and between sectors and territories.

• Ensure that new technologies and e-platforms do not widen the divide that is consolidating poor-quality employment, or priviledge extractive systems of production that do not support communities’ social cohesion, connectedness and wellbeing. Develop policies to protect people’s privacy, and foster traditional local small business.

• Promote alternative economic models such as the transition towards a circular and green economy; support the social and collaborative economy and sustainable tourism. Support the transition towards territorialized food systems that foster good health while minimizing environmental impact; and support efforts to reduce the environmental footprint.

• Recognize the critical role that the informal economy plays in the urban fabric. Because of this contribution and the growing number of

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workers involved in informal economy activities (estimated at over two billion people worldwide, among which women are ‘over-represented’), LRGs need to take necessary steps and support and create initiatives to help entrepreneurs in the informal economy. This must support them to evolve their activities towards the social and solidary economy, and promote the creation of mechanisms to facilitate access to social protection.

• Create enabling conditions, capacities and confidence to mobilize the transformative power of public procurement, while respecting the autonomy of LRGs to set their own policy priorities. This should be done by mainstreaming and implementing sustainable and decent work policies, and fair, labour-friendly and environmental clauses, and by encouraging a culture of transparent public contracts and disclosure.

At the global and national levels Foster a global-local movement to localize the SDGs. Localization should be a pillar of national sustainable strategies to implement the SDGs To achieve the 2030 agendas on time, the pace of change needs to accelerate and ambitions need to be bolder. National governments and international organizations should work in collaboration with LRGs and their networks to increase the outreach and strengthen partnerships of the 'whole-of-government' with the 'whole-of-society' to boost localization.

National governments should: • Integrate (or strengthen) robust localization strategies in their sustainable development strategies and action plans to expand the involvement of LRGs and local actors, accelerating and upscaling territorial sustainable development. Localization strategies should be mainstreamed in all plans, programmes and budgets from national to local levels.

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• Coordinated strategies for the 2030 Agenda, the SDGs, the Paris Climate Agreement and the New Urban Agenda are an imperative. No single agenda can be addressed in isolation.

National sustainable development plans (NSDPs), Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Climate Agreement and national urban policies (NUPs), as well as other strategic plans, need to be articulated in order to overcome sectoral fragmented strategies, improve the allocation of resources and boost implementation at all levels, from global to local and vice-versa.

Create an ‘enabling institutional environment’ for localization – empowered local and regional governments and adequate financing flows to support localization are an imperative Effective decentralization policies are intrinsic to empowering LRGs and supporting SDG localization. The principles of effective decentralization are defined in the International Guidelines on Decentralization, adopted by the UN-Habitat Governing Council in 2007.

• LRGs need the respect of local autonomy and subsidiarity principles to be respected in order to respond to the demands of their inhabitants, to innovate and adapt national policies and the SDGs to the local context. Urgent actions are needed to unlock LRGs’ potential to localize the SDGS and ensure access to basic services for all.

• Access to basic social services is a universal principle acknowledged by the UN and a building block for human development. LRGs need to be empowered and accountable to ensure the delivery of quality basic services for all, defined as direct or shared responsibilities in the legal frameworks of a majority of countries, to achieve the principle to ‘leave no one behind’ — one of the core objectives of the 2030 Agenda.

• LRGs’ adequate fiscal powers and capacities, as acknowledged by the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (paragraph 34) need strengthened local tax systems, including the power to capture part of land and property added-value; a better allocation of national fiscal revenues through fair, regular and predictable intergovernmental transfers; and access to responsible borrowing to invest in sustainable public services and

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infrastructures. Environmental taxes should be considered to advance energy transition and enshrine the ‘polluter pays’ principle into financing frameworks. Equalization funds are also necessary to ensure the adequate redistribution of resources across the whole territory to avoid ‘leaving any territory behind’, paying particular attention to intermediary cities and small towns and promoting more balanced and ‘polycentric’ urban systems.

• To mobilize national and international sustainable investments toward cities and territories, national policies and legal frameworks should be revised. An appropriate range of debt finance options needs to be adapted and made accessible to LRGs, one that considers multiple sources of financing and innovative financial instruments. It is also necessary to adopt vertically aligned NDC investment plans and open or facilitate LRGs’ access to climate and green funds.

• Facilities supporting cities in making transformative projects reach bankability and creditworthiness standards are essential and require strong backing and leadership to close financing gaps and enhance match-making opportunities, either through specific funds, or connecting cities with potential financiers. The next phase, already in motion, is to support a more diverse set of financial mechanisms that are adapted to the different capacities of cities and territories, such as the upcoming International Municipal Investment Fund, set up by the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and UCLG with the support of the Global Fund for Cities Development.

• The promise of ‘blended finance’ can only be fulfilled with the creation of adequate regulatory frameworks and with support for LRGs in setting up partnerships with the private sector. These must be mutually beneficial and have clear contractual parameters ensuring that the needs of their citizens come first and that the poor and vulnerable groups are not ‘left behind’.

Effective involvement of all spheres of government, civil society and key stakeholders is imperative to strengthen the governance of the SDGs and the localization process

critical to achieve the ‘whole-of-government’ and ‘whole-of-society’ approaches called for by the SDGs. It is also crucial to ensure policy and institutional coherence both internally and externally. Without the active and collaborative involvement of all stakeholders, the SDGs will remain aspirational goals.

• At the national level, there is much to do in terms of effectively involving LRGs and stakeholders in the national coordination mechanisms for the implementation of the SDGs. Limited consultations and uncoordinated decisionmaking presently hinder the policy coherence necessary to achieve the SDGs targets and reduce local ownership.

• Integrated national planning systems are at the core of functional multilevel governance systems and need to be revamped to enhance the coordination between national governments, LRGs and local stakeholders. A renewed approach to planning that articulates national strategies with strong local initiatives in active collaboration could recalibrate development policies, facilitate burgeoning local actions and promote institutional innovation. This collaboration needs to be founded on the respect of the principle of subsidiarity.

• As decision-makers, LRGs need to be involved in the definition, implementation and followup of NDCs and national strategies for the implementation of the New Urban Agenda.

National urban policies (NUPs), adopted (or in the course of being adopted) by more than 92 countries, need to be integrated in national development strategies (NDSs) to take advantage of the cumulative benefits of urbanization and identify cross-sector synergies to support SDG implementation.

• Horizontal cooperation at the sub-national level (e.g. intra and inter-municipal cooperation) needs adequate governance mechanisms, tools and fiscal policies to foster urban-rural partnerships and reinforce the management of growing metropolitan areas. Coordination will also strengthen interconnections and cooperation between territories for service delivery and key environmental issues that require reinforced and trans-jurisdictional (and often trans-boundary) actions, such as the management of river catchments and environmental resources.

Strong partnerships and the participation of LRGs, civil society, private sector, social partners and academia in SDG implementation, are

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Support the production and dissemination of disaggregated data for monitoring, evaluation and impact measurement of the localization of the global agendas, including the SDGs • LRG involvement in the global and national monitoring and reporting processes on SDG implementation is crucial and should not be limited to ad hoc consultations. The process of Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) needs improvement, to ensure the fullyfledged participation of LRGs that brings the voice of the territories and local actors to the process.

• Fragmented reporting systems hinder ownership and the institutionalization of the SDGs across different spheres of government.

Strengthening local reporting capacities and closing the data gap require particular attention and support. National and local capacities to define and collect disaggregated and localized data should be part of SDG localization strategies to ensure that planning processes at all levels are founded on realistic targets and that effective implementation can be monitored, as well as to ensure accountability and citizen follow-up.

• Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) contributing to national monitoring and to the global debate, and promoting knowledge-sharing and emulation between LRGs, are opportunities that need specific support and acknowledgment.

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A global governance system that brings together local and regional governments and civil society will boost the implementation of the global agendas • The UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) will need to be reshaped to enhance the participation of different stakeholders, as well as facilitate true innovation and learning. The HLPF should be an effective multilateral and multi-stakeholder space for dialogue, exchange and knowledge-sharing in order to reinforce multilateral collaboration and partnerships and ensure the real oversight of commitments, policy agreements and implementation.

• The consolidation of the Local and Regional Governments Forum is essential as a critical space for interactions between the LRGs, UN Member States, and the UN system.

Furthermore, multilevel dialogues need to embolden the local-global leadership, as proposed in the ‘Seville Commitment’.

At the continental level, LRGs’ enhanced involvement in the regional forums (e.g.

Regional Forums on Sustainable Development, co-organized by regional UN Commissions), in multi-stakeholder platforms (e.g. the European platform) and spaces (e.g. urban forums) will enhance policy exchange to foster SDG localization and the active involvement of LRGs in the monitoring of the SDGs and related agendas.

The audience at the Local and Regional Governments’ Forum, HLPF, 16 July 2018, New York (photo: UCLG-CGLU/Joel Sheakosk, bit.ly/31UjlHR).

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06. Notes and Bibliography

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Background — Notes 1

2

Independent Group of Scientists appointed by the Secretary-General, “Global Sustainable Development Report 2019: The Future Is Now – Science for Achieving Sustainable Development” (New York, NY, 2019); United Nations Secretary General, “Long-Term Impact of Current Trends in the Economic, Social and Environmental Areas on the Realization of the Sustainable Development Goals” (New York, 2019).

3

United Nations Secretary-General, “LongTerm Impact of Current Trends in the Economic, Social and Environmental Areas on the Realization of the Sustainable Development Goals.”

4

United Nations Secretary-General, “The Road to Dignity by 2030: Ending Poverty, Transforming All Lives and Protecting the Planet” (New York, 2014).

IPCC, “IPCC Special Report 2018: Summary for Policymakers,” 2018.

5

UNDESA, “World Population Prospects 2019 Data Booklet” (New York, 2019).

6

UNDESA, “World Urbanization Prospects.

The 2018 Revision” (New York, 2018).

7

Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre and Norwegian Refugee Council, “Global Report on Internal Displacement” (Geneva, 2018).

European region — Notes 1

2

3

4

5

UNDESA, “World Urbanization Prospects.

The 2018 Revision”. The percentage of urban population in Europe is 74.4% (Russia and Belarus not included). However, there are important differences between Eastern and Western Europe, as well as between Northern and Southern Europe (urban population: 64%, 80%, 82% and 71.5% respectively).

European Commission, “The State of European Cities 2016; Cities Leading the Way to a Better Future” (Brussels, 2016).

Eurostat, “Sustainable Development in the European Union. Overview of Progress towards the SDGs in an EU Context” (Brussels, 2017).

Countries that presented their VNRs in 2016: Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Montenegro, Norway, and Switzerland. In 2017: Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, and Sweden. In 2018: Albania, Andorra, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic, Spain, and Switzerland (for the second time); and in 2019: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Serbia, and United Kingdom.

United Cities and Local Governments, “Towards the Localization of the SDGs,” LRGs’ Report to the HLPF (Barcelona, 2018), https://www.gold.uclg.org/sites/ default/files/Towards_the_Localization_ of_the_SDGs.pdf; United Cities and Local Governments, “Towards the Localization of the SDGs,” LRGs’ Report to the HLPF (Barcelona, 2019), https:// www.gold.uclg.org/sites/default/files/ Localization2019_EN.pdf; United Cities and Local Governments, “National and SubNational Governments on the Way towards the Localization of the SDGs,” LRGs’ Report to the HLPF (Barcelona, 2017), https:// www.gold.uclg.org/sites/default/files/ UCLG_GTF_LocalizationSDG.pdf; and the international surveys conducted among UCLG members and partners for each report.

6

See: https://www.agenda2030.gob. es/sites/default/files/INFORME_DE_ GOBERNANZA_AC_2030_1.pdf.

7

European Parliament, “Europe’s Approach to Implementing the SDGs: Good Practices and the Way Forward” (2019).

8

UCLG and GTF, “Towards the Localization of the SDGs 2019.”

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9

OECD, “Making Decentralisation Work.

A Handbook for Policy-Makers,” OECD Multi-Level Governance Studies (Paris, 2019); UNDESA, “2016 Voluntary National Reviews Synthesis Report” (New York, 2016); UNDESA, “2017 Voluntary National Reviews Synthesis Report” (New York, 2017); UNDESA, “2018 Voluntary National Reviews Synthesis Report” (New York, 2018).

10 European Commission, “Towards a Sustainable Europe by 2030,” Reflection Papers (Brussels, 2018).

11 European Council, Conclusions of European Council Meeting, 18 October 2018. The European multi-stakeholder Platform on the SDGs, created by the EC and the CoR, has raised a similar request, asking for ‘a territorial approach for the delivery of the SDGs’. CoR, “SDGs: A Basis for a Long-Term EU Strategy for Sustainable Europe by 2030,” ECON-VI/044 (Brussels, 2019) and also CoR, “Europe Moving toward a Sustainable Future” (Brussels, 2018). The objective of the Platform is to 'support and advise the European Commission and all stakeholders involved on the implementation of the SDGs at EU level', gathering representatives from EU institutions, Member States, LRG organizations, NGOs, civil society coalitions, business sector, academia, trade unions, youth, etc. See https://ec.europa. eu/info/strategy/international-strategies/ eu-and-sustainable-development-goals/ multi-stakeholder-platform-sdgs_en.

12 Following a survey realized in March-April 2019 by CEMR, PLATFORMA and UCLG (answered by 25 LGAs, see Section 3.1), the Flemish, Czech, Danish (LGDK and DR), French, Icelandic, Latvian, Norwegian, Scottish, Serbian, Spanish (FEMP), Slovakian, and Swedish associations have been consulted.

13 UCLG and GTF, “National and Sub-National Governments on the Way towards the Localization of the SDGs.” 14 UCLG and GTF, “Towards the Localization of the SDGs 2018.”

15 UCLG and GTF, “Towards the Localization of the SDGs 2019.”

16 CEMR-CCRE and PLATFORMA, “How Local & Regional Government Associations Bring the SDGs to Life” (Brussels, 2019), https:// www.ccre.org/img/uploads/piecesjointe/ filename/CEMR_PLATFORMA_study_ SDGs_2019_EN.pdf.

17 Marlene Siméon, Nathalie Noupadia, and Lisa Bardot, “Sustainable Development Goals. How Europe’s Towns and Regions Are Taking the Lead” (Brussels, 2018).

18 See Latvia’s 2017 VNR and Wright, “UCLG/ CIB Platform for Sustainable Development Goals and Local Government Associations.”

19 UNDESA, “2018 Voluntary National Reviews Synthesis Report”; UNDESA, “2017 Voluntary National Reviews Synthesis Report”; UNDESA, “2016 Voluntary National Reviews Synthesis Report.” See also the United Nations’ online VNR database at: https:// sustainabledevelopment.un.org/vnrs/.

20 See also the VNRs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Serbia and the United Kingdom in 2019. UCLG and GTF, “Towards the Localization of the SDGs 2019.”

21 Wright, “UCLG/CIB Platform for Sustainable Development Goals and Local Government Associations.”

22 Paul Stephenson, “Twenty Years of MultiLevel Governance: ‘Where Does It Come From? What Is It? Where Is It Going?,’” Journal of European Public Policy 20, no. 6 (August 31, 2013): 817–37, https://doi.org /10.1080/13501763.2013.781818; Hellmut Wollmann, “Public and Social Services in Europe: From Public and Municipal to Private Provision—And Reverse?,” in Public and Social Services in Europe (London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2016), 313–34, https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-574992_21; OECD, “Making Decentralisation Work.”

23 OECD, "Multi-Level Governance Reforms: Overview of OECD Country Experiences," n.d., 31–33.

24 OECD and UCLG, “Subnational Governments around the World: Structure and Finance” (Barcelona: UCLG Committee on Local Finance and Development, 2016).

25 Andreas Ladner, Nicolas Keuffer, and Harald Baldersheim, “Measuring Local Autonomy in 39 Countries (1990–2014),” Regional and Federal Studies 26, no. 3 (May 26, 2016): 321–57, quoted in Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, “Making Decentralisation Work,” 52.

26 Hooghe et al., "Measuring Regional Authority. Volume I: A Postfunctionalist Theory of Governance" quoted in OECD, “Making Decentralisation Work,” 7, 29, 63–64, 159. Regional authority is measured

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along ten dimensions: institutional depth, policy scope, fiscal autonomy, borrowing autonomy, representation, law-making, executive control, fiscal control, borrowing control, and constitutional reform.

27 OECD, “Making Decentralisation Work,” 45.

28 Geert Bouckaert, Sabine Kuhlmann, and Christian Schwab, “L’avenir Des Administrations Locales En Europe : Leçons Tirées de La Recherche et de La Pratique Dans 31 Pays,” 2018, 53, https://doi. org/10.4000/books.igpde.5426.

46 OECD and UCLG, “World Observatory on Subnational Governments’ Finance and Investment. Country Profiles.”

68 Eurostat, “Sustainable Development in the European Union. Overview of Progress towards the SDGs in an EU Context.”

47 OECD, “Making Decentralisation Work,” 37–38.

69 European Economic and Social Committee, “Exposing EU Policy Gaps to Address the Sustainable Development Goals” (Brussels, 2018); OECD, "Measuring Distance to the SDG Targets 2017 : An Assessment of Where OECD Countries Stand" (OECD, 2018).

48 Council of Europe, “Local and Regional Democracy in the United Kingdom,” CG(26)10 (Strasbourg, 2014).

49 OECD, "Multi-Level Governance Reforms: Overview of OECD Country Experiences," 52–53.

70 See Futurium’s website at this link: https:// ec.europa.eu/futurium/en/urban-agenda.

29 OECD, “Making Decentralisation Work,” 55.

50 OECD, 52.

30 OECD, 55.

51 OECD, 55.

31 OECD and UCLG, “World Observatory on Subnational Governments’ Finance and Investment. Country Profiles.”

52 European Commission, “European Governance” (Brussels, 2001).

72 OECD, 11, 131–34; OECD, "Multi-Level Governance Reforms: Overview of OECD Country Experiences."

53 Committee of the Regions, “White Paper on Multilevel Governance” (Brussels: Committee of the Regions, July 18, 2009).

73 OECD, "Multi-Level Governance Reforms: Overview of OECD Country Experiences."

32 Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, “Fact-Finding Mission on the Situation of Local Elected Representatives in the Republic of Moldova” (Strasbourg, 2018); Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, “La Démocratie Locale et Régionale En Suisse” (Strasbourg, 2017); OECD and UCLG, “World Observatory on Subnational Governments’ Finance and Investment.

Country Profiles.”

33 Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, “Fact-Finding Mission on the Situation of Local Elected Representatives in the Republic of Moldova.”

34 Council of Europe, “European Charter of Local Self-Government” (1985).

35 Bouckaert, Kuhlmann, and Schwab, “L’avenir Des Administrations Locales En Europe : Leçons Tirées de La Recherche et de La Pratique Dans 31 Pays,” 28.

36 European Commission, “The State of European Cities 2016.”

37 See CEMR-CCRE’s website, About Members; and National Associations of Local and Regional Governments in Europe, 2019.

38 OECD, "Multi-Level Governance Reforms: Overview of OECD Country Experiences," 71.

39 OECD, “Annex B: Classification of the Functions of Government (COFOG).

Government at a Glance” (Paris, 2011).

40 OECD, “Making Decentralisation Work,” 73-ff.

41 Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, “Fact-Finding Mission on the Situation of Local Elected Representatives in the Republic of Moldova”; Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, “La Démocratie Locale et Régionale En Suisse”; OECD and UCLG, “World Observatory on Subnational Governments’ Finance and Investment.

Country Profiles.”

42 OECD, “Making Decentralisation Work,” 63.

43 Agustí Fernández de Losada, “Shaping a New Generation of Decentralised Cooperation. For Enhanced Effectiveness and Accountability,” 2017; OECD, Reshaping Decentralised Development Co-Operation: The Key Role of Cities and Regions for the 2030 Agenda (Paris: OECD, 2018).

44 CEMR-CCRE and Dexia, “EU Sub-National Governments: 2008 Key Figures” (Brussels, 2010); OECD, “Subnational Governments in OECD Countries: Key Data 2018 Edition” (Paris, 2018). The total of subnational governments (regions and local governments) fell from 17.2% of GDP in 2009 to 15.5% in 2016 and from 33.8% of total public expenditure to 33.4% in the same years.

54 European Union, Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community, Article 5.

55 For information on these organizations see Section 3.1.

56 See: https://www.ccre.org/en/actualites/ view/2165.

57 The Committee of the Regions has 350 members representing LRGs from all 28 EU Countries. See: http://www.cor.europa.eu.

58 Commission delegated regulation (EU) No 240/2014 of 7 January 2014 on the European code of conduct on partnership in the framework of the European Structural and Investment Funds. See: https://eur-lex. europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri= CELEX:32014R0240&from=EN. 59 Luc Van den Brande, “Multilevel Governance and Partnership. The Van Den Brande Report. Special Report Prepared at the Request of the Commissioner for Regional and Urban Policy Johannes Hahn” (Brussels, 2014).

60 Committee of the Regions, “Charter for Multilevel Governance in Europe” (Brussels, 2014).

61 European Commission, “Communication on the next Steps for a Sustainable European Future: European Action for Sustainability” (2016).

62 See: https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/ international-strategies/sustainabledevelopment-goals/multi-stakeholderplatform-sdgs_en.

63 See: https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/ international-strategies/sustainabledevelopment-goals/multi-stakeholderplatform-sdgs/support-and-advise_en.

64 European Commission, “Towards a Sustainable Europe by 2030.”

65 European Commission, “The Principles of Subsidiarity and Proportionality: Strengthening Their Role in the EU’s Policymaking” (2018).

66 European Parliament, EP Committee on Development, and EP Committee on the Environment Public Health and Food Safety, “Annual Strategic Report on the Implementation and Delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” (2019); European Parliament, “Resolution of 3 July 2018 on the Role of Cities in the Institutional Framework of the Union,” 2018.

71 OECD, “Making Decentralisation Work,” 86.

74 Delia Rodrigo, Lorenzo Allio, and Pedro Andres-Amo, “Multi-Level Regulatory Governance: Policies, Institutions and Tools for Regulatory Quality and Policy Coherence,” OECD Working Papers on Public Governance (Paris, 2009).

75 See: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/ document/TA-8-2018-0273_EN.html.

76 For more information, see: https:// ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/ policy/themes/urban-development/agenda/ pact-of-amsterdam.pdf.

77 UN-Habitat, “National Urban Policy. Europe and North America” (Nairobi, 2017); UN-Habitat and OECD, “Global State of National Urban Policy.”

78 European Commission, “Supporting the Sustainable Development Goals across the World: The 2019 Joint Synthesis Report of the European Union and Its Member States,” SWD(2019) 176 Final (Brussels, 2019).

79 European Commission, “Empowering Local Authorities in Partner Countries for Enhanced Governance and More Effective Development Outcomes” (2013).

80 For more information, see: http://www. platforma-dev.eu/.

81 European Commission, “Cotonou Agreement” (2000).

82 Committee of the Regions, “A Territorial Approach for the Implementation of the SDGs in the EU. The Role of the European Committee of the Regions,” Commission for Economic Policy ECON (Brussels, 2019).

83 European Union, “New European Consensus on Development. Our World, Our Dignity, Our Future” (2017).

In addition, the Consensus recognizes the importance of cities and urban development.

84 European Union.

85 OECD, "Reshaping Decentralised Development Co-Operation: The Key Role of Cities and Regions for the 2030 Agenda," 40; Fernández de Losada, “Shaping a New Generation of Decentralised Cooperation."

86 Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and, in lesser measure, Baltic countries, Czech Republic, France, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom (English cities and Scotland). The VNR of Serbia also stresses the important role of LRGs.

67 See: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/ document/TA-8-2018-0273_EN.html.

45 OECD, “Making Decentralisation Work,” 47.

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87 For a complete mapping of LRGs and their associations in Europe, see also CEMRCCRE’s website: https://www.ccre.org/en/ pays/map.

88 Created in 1951, CEMR brings together 60 national associations of LRGs from 41 European countries and represents, through them, all levels of territories – local, intermediate and regional. Visit their website for more information: https://www. ccre.org/.

89 Created in 2008, PLATFORMA is a panEuropean coalition of 30 LRGs acting on EU international cooperation. For more information, visit their website at: http:// platforma-dev.eu/about-us/.

90 The topic was part of the debate in the CEMR’s Task Force meeting on ‘Implementing the SDGs at the local level’.

103 See also: https://cor.europa.eu/en/engage/ Pages/cohesion-alliance.aspx.

104 See CEMR updates in this regard: http:// ccre.org/en/actualites/view/3519; http:// www.ccre.org/en/actualites/view/3804.

105 The 2019 survey was also co-organized with UCLG. For an infographic summary of the 2019 survey: https://www.ccre.org/img/ uploads/piecesjointe/filename/PLT_19_13_ infographics_SDGs_EN.pdf.

106 See also the press release ‘Great interest from municipalities and regions for Agenda 2030’ by UNA Sweden. Available online (in Swedish only) at this link: https:// fn.se/aktuellt/pressmeddelanden/stortintresse-fran-kommuner-och-regioner-foragenda-2030/.

92 See: http://www.eurocities.eu/eurocities/ calendar/events_list/SDG-summer-dealsWSPO-AZ2GZT.

107 AICCRE organized several training sessions at local level and one at national level with more than 100 mayors involved in 2018 and planned a new training action for June 2019. An international meeting in Venice in November 2018, ‘Venice City Solutions 2030’, was held in partnership with UNHabitat, UNDP and UNCDF: See: https:// www.aiccre.it/sdg-2030/ and https://www. aiccre.it/vcs2030/.

93 For example, during the European Week of Regions and Cities (October 2018) and in April 2019, a joint event on the localization of the SDGs in Brussels with concrete examples from different LRGs. See: http://www.eurocities.eu/eurocities/ calendar/events_list/Delivering-SustainableDevelopment-Goals-at-regional-and-locallevel-WSPO-B2KQGY.

108 The Czech LGA, SMO (in cooperation with the Caritas Czech Republic NGO), implemented a project called ‘Sustainable Cities and Municipalities for Development’ (2016-2017) focusing on awareness-raising (outputs are available online: https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=1_26SC3scss). Other activities for students and publications were also undertaken.

94 Created in 1971, with 100 members (European border and cross-border regions) from 39 countries, the AEBR makes the voice of the border and cross-border regions heard at the European level. For more information: https://www.aebr.eu/en/ index.php.

109 Since 2016, the Latvian LGA LALRG has been working on the project, ‘Working together towards empowering local and regional governments for effective development outcomes in EU partner countries' with the support of Plaforma, to develop a multi-stakeholder approach to the SDGs and held various workshops in 2017 (in Jaunpils and Kuldiga). It also developed cartoons on the topic of the SDGs in cooperation with an animation studio in the Jaunpils region.

91 Founded in 1986, Eurocities brings together 140 of Europe’s largest cities from 39 countries. For more information, visit: http:// www.eurocities.eu/.

95 The Assembly of European Regions (AER), created in 1985, gathers 47 regions from 35 countries – from Norway to Turkey and from Russia to Portugal. For more information, visit: https://aer.eu/.

96 The Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions, created in 1973, brings together some 160 regions from 25 states from the European Union and beyond. For more information, visit: https://cpmr.org/who-weare/.

97 Created in 1990, Climate Alliance is a network of 1,700 cities and municipalities from 26 countries. For more information, see: http://www.climatealliance.org/.

98 Created in 1990, Energy Cities represents 1,000 towns and cities across 30 countries.

For more information, visit: http://www. energy-cities.eu/.

99 More information on all these networks is available on the website of the Global Taskforce: https://www.global-taskforce. org/.

100 All information about the EU Urban Agenda is available at: https://ec.europa.eu/ futurium/en.

101 Air quality, housing, urban poverty, migrant and refugee integration, circular economy, digital transition, urban mobility, jobs and skills in the local economy, energy transition, climate adaptation, innovative and responsible public procurement, and sustainable use of land and naturebased solutions (as of March 2019). See also: http://www.eurocities.eu/eurocities/ working_groups/Urban-Agenda-for-theEU&tpl=home.

102 For more information: https://www. covenantofmayors.eu/en/.

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110 For example, the Department of Gironde, or the Regional Governments of Nouvelle Aquitaine and Normandie (AFCCRE response to CEMR/PLATFORMA survey).

111 For more information, see also: http://www. rgre.de.

112 This is based on SCTM’s answer to the survey. SCTM is responsible for the implementation of the second pillar of the project to coordinate local public policies and the elaboration of LRGs' Development Plans in accordance with the Law on Planning System (in five pilot municipalities).

113 Based on the 2019 VNR of the United Kingdom and LGAs’ replies to the CEMR/ PLATFORMA survey.

114 See: http://www.nalas.eu/News/SDGs_ Handbook.

115 CEMR-CCRE and PLATFORMA, “How Local & Regional Government Associations Bring the SDGs to Life” (Brussels, 2019), https:// www.ccre.org/img/uploads/piecesjointe/ filename/CEMR_PLATFORMA_study_ SDGs_2019_EN.pdf.

116 Strong involvement: LGAs from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, Spain and Sweden. Weak involvement: the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Lithuania, and Serbia. Three associations have not been informed (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro) and the Moldovan association was not aware of the process.

117 CEMR-CCRE and PLATFORMA, “How Local & Regional Government Associations Bring the SDGs to Life” (Brussels, 2019), https:// www.ccre.org/img/uploads/piecesjointe/ filename/CEMR_PLATFORMA_study_ SDGs_2019_EN.pdf.

These percentages are a bit different from the percentages shown in Section 2.1, which take into consideration all European countries that reported to the HLPF or that created coordination mechanisms for the follow-up of the SDGs, and not just the LGAs that responded to the survey.118 For more information, see: https://www. agenda2030.gob.es/sites/default/files/ INFORME_DE_GOBERNANZA_AC_2030_1. pdf.

119 In the case of Albania, the VNR mentions the involvement of local governments in the preparation of the VNRs, but the Association of Albanian Municipalities was not consulted.

120 In France, LRGs are invited to produce a regular report on their sustainable development policies that can be translated into a regular overarching SDG report, e.g. Région Bourgogne Franche Comté, “Région Bourgogne Franche Comté, Le Dévelopment Durable. Une Priorité Pour La Région, Rapport 2017-2018” (Besançon, 2018).

121 The survey has been answered by 39% of municipalities (6% of big cities), 17% of regions, 9% of intermediary entities (e.g. counties or provinces), 10% other local and regional bodies and 26% from academia, NGOs or public bodies. The results of the survey are available through the following link: https://cor.europa.eu/en/news/Pages/ SDGs_survey.aspx; See: Committee of the Regions and OECD, “Survey Results Note.

The Key Contribution of Regions and Cities to Sustainable Development” (Brussels, 2019).

122 Committee of the Regions and OECD, 7.

Participation in the VNR process is 21%, but higher between regions (38%) and intermediary bodies (29%) and lower for small municipalities (11%). In the CEMR/ PLATFORMA survey, the percentage is 26% for participation in the VNRs. 123 For northern countries see the responses to the UCLG survey and also Nora Sánchez Gassen, Oskar Penje, and Elin Slätmo, “Global Goals for Local Priorities: The 2030 Agenda at Local Level,” Nordregio Report 2018:2 (Stockholm, 2018).

124 For example, cities such as Amiens, Besançon, Bonn, Bristol, Canterbury, Ghent, Freiburg, Haarlem, Hannover, Harelbeke, Helsinki, Malmö, Mannheim, Poznan, Oss, Strasbourg, Utrecht; departments or provincial governments such as Córdoba, Barcelona, Gironde; and regional governments such as Brussels, the Basque Country, Catalonia, Kronoberg, Lombardy, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Normandie, Nouvelle Aquitaine, Scotland, Västra-Götaland, and Wales, among others.

125 For more information, see: http://www.ccre. org/en/actualites/view/3555. See also the guidelines developed by Flanders’ VVSG: “Integrating the SDGs into your context analysis: how to start?”, accessible at: http://localizingthesdgs.org/library/431/ Integrating-the-SDGs-into-policy-planningcontext-analysis.pdf.

126 More information available at: https://www. diba.cat/web/ods/que-son-els-ods.

127 More information at: https://www. regensburg.de/sixcms/media.php/280/ STADT_RGBG_MANAGEMENTPLAN_ WELTERBE_GB_screen.pdf.

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128 For more detail see: https://www. mannheim.de/sites/default/files/ institution/13085/broschu_re_strategische_ ziele_englisch.pdf.

129 For more information, visit: http://www. nalas.eu/News/SDGs_Handbook.

130 Sánchez Gassen, Penje, and Slätmo, “Global Goals for Local Priorities: The 2030 Agenda at Local Level.”

131 More information at: https://www.asker. kommune.no/nye-asker-kommune/ barekraft/the-new-asker-municipality-isbased-on-the-un-sustainable-developmentgoals/.

132 For more information, visit: http:// developpementdurable.wallonie.be/ actualite/en-route-vers-2030.

133 More details available at: http://www. cooperaciovalenciana.gva.es/es/ agenda-2030.

134 More details available at: http://cads. gencat.cat/en/Agenda_2030/index.html.

135 See also: Great interest from municipalities and regions for Agenda 2030’ by UNA Sweden. Available online (in Swedish only) at: https://fn.se/aktuellt/ pressmeddelanden/stort-intresse-frankommuner-och-regioner-for-agenda-2030/.

152 Committee of the Regions and OECD, “Survey Results Note. The Key Contribution of Regions and Cities to Sustainable Development,” 5.

Among all respondents who use indicators, the most common answer was for local indicators (26%) followed by national indicators (19%).

Fewer than 15% of respondents used EU or UN-level indicators.

153 For more information, visit: https:// ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/sdi/indicators.

154 In 2018, these indicators were: overcrowding rate; population living in households suffering from exposure to noise; exposure to air pollution by particulate matter; population living in a dwelling with a leaking roof, damp walls, floors or foundations, or rot in window frames of floor; population reporting occurrence of crime, violence or vandalism in their area; difficulty in accessing public transport; people killed in road accidents; share of buses and trains in total passenger transport; recycling rate of municipal waste; population connected to at least secondary wastewater treatment; and artificial land cover per capita.

155 European Economic and Social Committee, “Exposing EU Policy Gaps to Address the Sustainable Development Goals.”

136 See: https://www.uclg.org/en/media/ news/insight-german-municipalities-beginlocalize-sdgs.

156 Visit also: https://www.wien.gv.at/ stadtentwicklung/studien/pdf/b008486d. pdf.

137 See: https://www.diba.cat/en/web/ods/ladiputacio-amb-els-ods.

157 See: http://www.rfsc.eu. Following the adoption of the Leipzig Charter on Sustainable European Cities in 2007, France initiated the tool, which was then developed in an inclusive process with representatives of the relevant ministries, CEMR and other relevant stakeholders, and supported by the European Commission.

138 Ville de Besançon, “Rapport Annuel Développement Durable 2017” (Besançon, 2017).

139 City of Bristol, University of Bristol, and Bristol Green Capital Partnership, “Driving the Sustainable Development Goals Agenda at City Level in Bristol,” Bristol Method+ (Bristol, 2018).

140 For more information, see: https://www. harelbeke.be/sdgs.

141 For more information, see: https://www. stadt-muenster.de/umwelt/nachhaltigkeit. html.

142 Deppy Keranidou et al., “Utrecht: A Global Goals City. Utrecht’s Approach to Localising the UN Sustainable Development Goals” (Utrecht, 2018).

143 See also: http://www.telos.nl/894864.asp x?t=Prototype+voor+een+lokale+SDGmonitor+voor+Nederland (Dutch only).

144 See also: https://rheden4globalgoals.nl.

158 See also: http://localizingthesdgs.org/ library/447/Localising-the-SDGs-inUtrecht-.pdf. Other cities such as Oss have developed their own indicators. More information at: http://telos.nl/894864.as px?t=Prototype+voor+een+lokale+SDGmonitor+voor+Nederland.

159 For more information, see: https://www.vvsg. be/Internationaal/SDG-pagina/documents in foreign lan-guages/Local_SDGindicators. xlsx. Additionally, a manual is available in English at: bit.ly/2MENkgf.

160 Dirk Assmann et al., “SDG Indicators for Municipalities. Indicators for Mapping Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations in German Municipalities” (Gütersloh, 2018).

145 See also: https://rheden4globalgoals.nl.

161 See: http://reds-sdsn.es/comunicadolanzamiento-informe-ods-ciudades.

146 For more details, visit: http://www. agenda21france.org/agenda-21-deterritoire/index.html.

162 See: http://unsdsn.org/wp-content/ uploads/2018/11/RPT_021_2018_SDG_City. pdf.

147 CEMR-CCRE and PLATFORMA, “How Local & Regional Government Associations Bring the SDGs to Life” (Brussels, 2019), https:// www.ccre.org/img/uploads/piecesjointe/ filename/CEMR_PLATFORMA_study_ SDGs_2019_EN.pdf.

163 More information available at: localizingthesdgs.org/library/536/ Sustainable-Development-Index-at-themunicipal-level.pdf.

148 For more information, visit: https:// ciudadesiberoamericanas.org/nuevoimpulso-a-la-cooperacion-internacionalcon-la-inauguracion-del-foro-madridsolidario/.

149 Visit: https://decide.madrid.es/.

150 More details available at: http://www. amb.cat/ca/web/amb/actualitat/salade-premsa/notes-de-premsa/detall/-/ notapremsa/primer-informe-anual-de-lobservatori-metropolita-de-l-habitatge--ohb/6783666/11696.

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151 For more information, see: https://pjp-eu. coe.int/en/web/coyote-magazine/somos.

164 The Joint Research Centre with the support of the European Commission’s DirectorateGeneral for Regional and Urban Policy is developing a European Handbook for the preparation of Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs).

165 Futureagenda, “Future of Cities. Insights from Multiple Expert Discussions around the World.” (London, 2017). GDP growth since 2000 was 50% faster in cities than in other areas.

166 Some countries have surpassed or are close to the levels of employment rates defined in the European 2020 Strategy (75% of employment rate of people aged 20-64) – e.g. Sweden, Germany, Denmark, UK, Estonia and Netherlands; in other countries, employment rates did not increase (particularly in transition regions) or, even if they have increased, unemployment remain high (e.g. Southern European countries).

Lewis Dijkstra, ed., “My Region, My Europe, Our Future. Seventh Report on Economic, Social and Territorial Cohesion” (Brussels, 2017).

167 Dijkstra. The following countries have a majority of regions classified as ‘less developed’: Eastern European countries, Baltic and Balkan Countries, Czech Republic, Greece, Southern Italy, Western Spain and Portugal. The following countries include regions considered ‘transition regions’: Malta, Southern Spain, Belgium’s Wallonia, and several areas of Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, the United Kingdom and Bulgaria.

168 For more information, see: t.ly/b10OA. 169 Dijkstra, “My Region, My Europe, Our Future.”

170 Visit also: https://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa. eu/-/ljubljana-start-up-ecosystem-andthe-technology-park-ljubljana-slovenia?inheritRedirect=true.

171 See also: https://maastrichtlab.nl/.

172 For more information, see: https:// smarterlabs.uni-graz.at/en/projectoverview/living-lab-experiment-graz/.

173 For more information, see:https://jpiurbaneurope.eu/project/urbexp/.

174 Dijkstra, “My Region, My Europe, Our Future.” For initiatives in the Basque country, see also: http://www.euskadi.eus/ contenidos/informacion/7071/es_2333/ adjuntos/Resumen%20Impacto%20%20 BONO%20SOSTENIBLE%202018%20%20 INGL%C3%89S%2030_05.pdf.

175 For more information, see: https://www. ilcittadinomb.it/stories/Economia/impresesostegno-allo-sviluppo-delle-pmi-in-unincontro-in-assolombarda_1305052_11/.

176 For more information, see: https:// ec.europa.eu/futurium/en/system/files/ ged/2019-06-14_bucharest_declaration_ en.pdf.

177 Dijkstra, “My Region, My Europe, Our Future.”

178 See also the proceedings of the conference on the ‘Vitality of Smaller Cities in Europe’, held in Barcelona on 25 October 2018 and co-organized by URBACT and the European Commission.

179 See also: bit.ly/35yXfNb. 180 See: http://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa. eu/-/how-the-project-s3-4alpclusterssupports-the-implementation-of-s3?inheritRedirect=true.

181 For more information: https://wifi4eu. ec.europa.eu.

182 For more information: http://www.ccre.org/ en/actualites/view/3808.

183 See: nws.eurocities.eu/MediaShell/media/ The_role_of_cities_in_promoting_social_ entrepreneurship.pdf.

184 European Commission, “The Future of Cities. Opportunities, Challenges and the Way Forward” (Brussels, 2019).

185 See: https://urbact.eu/incredibol-creativeinnovation.

GOLD V REGIONAL REPORT

186 V. Montalto et al., “The Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor. 2017 Edition.” (Brussels, 2017), https://doi. org/10.2760/58643.

214 See also: https://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/ en/living-here/blue-box-recycling.aspx.

242 Dijkstra, “My Region, My Europe, Our Future.”

215 See: https://www.interregeurope.eu/winpol/.

187 More information available at: https:// ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/peseta-ii.

216 Visit also: https://www.eea.europa.eu/ themes/waste/municipal-waste.

243 See the proceedings of the 2017 OECD conference on ‘Understanding the socioeconomic divide in Europe’.

188 For more information, see: t.ly/DKw3Y.

217 Dijkstra, “My Region, My Europe, Our Future.”

189 For more information, see: https:// ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/ strategies/2050_en.

218 See: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ circular-economy/index_en.htm.

190 For more information, see: https://www. covenantofmayors.eu/.

219 See: https://www.climate-kic.org/in-detail/ municipality-circular-economy-case-studies/.

191 Visit: https://energy-cities.eu/publication/ local-energy-ownership-in-europe/.

220 See: http://www.economiecirculaire.org/.

192 More details available at: https://cordis. europa.eu/article/id/400003-retrofittingbuildings/en.

193 More details at: https://www. interregeurope.eu/policylearning/goodpractices/item/375/london-s-buildingretrofit-programme-re-fit/.

194 More details at: https://www. interregeurope.eu/policylearning/goodpractices/item/1166/energy-retrofit-of-themulti-apartment-building-reljkoviceva-2/.

195 For more information, see: https://www. c40.org/case_studies/energy-retrofitsprotecting-the-cultural-heritage-inheidelberg.

196 See: https://www.worldfuturecouncil.org/ energy-remunicipalisation-hamburg-buysback-energy-grids/.

197 For more information, see: http://energia. barcelona/en/barcelona-energia-municipalelectricity-company.

198 For more information, see: http://www.eltis. org/discover/news/free-public-transportlaunched-successfully-dunkirk.

199 For more information, see: https://www. tallinn.ee/eng/freepublictransport/Aboutfree-public-transport-in-Tallinn.

200 More details at: https://www.cdp.net/en/ cities/world-renewable-energy-cities.

201 More information at: http://e5p.eu/.

202 More information available at: https://www. climate-chance.org/observatoire-de-laction/ rapport2018/.

203 See: https://eur-lex.europa. eu/legal-content/en/ TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52016DC0501.

204 UCLG and GTF, “Towards the Localization of the SDGs 2018,” 56.

205 UCLG and GTF, 56.

206 See for instance: https://bit.ly/2N8S54A. 207 UCLG and GTF, “Towards the Localization of the SDGs 2018,” 56.

208 UCLG and GTF, 56.

209 For more information, see: http://www. sharingcities.eu/sharingcities/city-profiles/ milan.

210 For more information, see: https://es.calameo.com/ books/00074977859cb097841ac.

211 More details at: https://mcphy.com/en/ news/zero-emission-valley-its-up-to-you/.

212 More information at: http://www.epsaprojects.eu/index.php/Green_Deal_ Approach_in_the_Netherlands.

213 More details at: http://ajuntament. barcelona.cat/ecologiaurbana/ca/residuzero/recollida-selectiva/porta-a-porta.

GOLD V REGIONAL REPORT —— EUROPE

221 For example, the Basque Country Energy Strategy 2030, Environmental Framework Programme 2020, EcoEuskadi Strategy 2020, Ecoefficiency Programme, Waste Prevention and Management Plan 2020.

See: https://espon.public.lu/dam-assets/ publications/policy-brief-on-circulareconomy-final.pdf.

222 See: https://www.interregeurope.eu/ policylearning/good-practices/item/145/ regional-road-map-towards-circulareconomy/.

223 More details at: http://pjhoy.fi/English/ circular_economy_press.

224 Visit: http://sustainablefoodcities.org/.

225 See: www.ciudadesagroecologicas.eu/.

226 More information at: https://www. retecittasane.it/.

227 More information at: https://www.ruaf.org/ projects/dutch-city-deal-food-urban-agenda.

228 For more details visit: https://www. biostaedte.de/.

229 For more details visit: http://www. agroecocities.eu/.

244 Manuel Wolff and Thorsten Wiechmann, “Urban Growth and Decline: Europe’s Shrinking Cities in a Comparative Perspective 1990–2010,” European Urban and Regional Studies 25, no. 2 (April 1, 2018): 122–39, https://doi.org/10.1177/0969776417694680.

245 European Commission, “The Future of Cities.”

246 Hans Schlappa and William JV Neill, “From Crisis to Choice: Re-Imagining the Future in Shrinking Cities,” URBACT II Capitalisation (Saint-Denis, 2013).

247 For more information, visit: http://www. charter-equality.eu/.

248 For more information, see: http://www.blog. urbact.eu/2017/12/umea-gender-equality-atthe-heart-of-the-city/.

249 More information at: http://www.charterequality.eu/exemple-de-bonnes-pratiques/ilede-france-public-transport-anti-harassmentcampaign.html?ref_id=166.

250 For additional details, see: http://www. charter-equality.eu/exemple-de-bonnespratiques/compilation-of-good-practices-initalys-municipalities-and-regions.html?ref_ id=156.

251 Dijkstra, “My Region, My Europe, Our Future.”

252 More information at: https://ec.europa.eu/ eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/EDN20190307-1.

253 Alice Pittini et al., “The State of Housing in the EU 2017” (Brussels, 2017).

230 More information at: https://www.ruaf.org/ cityfood.

254 See also: https://www.uclg.org/en/media/ news/cities-adequate-housing-call-actionensure-right-housing.

231 More information at: http://www. milanurbanfoodpolicypact.org/.

255 More information available at: https:// ec.europa.eu/futurium/en/housing/actions.

232 More details at: http://regions-france.org/ actualites/actualites-nationales/transitionagricole-partenariat-resolis/.

256 For more information: http://www. europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/ IDAN/2016/579099/EPRS_IDA(2016)579099_ EN.pdf.

233 See: https://www.akeuropa.eu/comparisoneuropean-water-supply-and-sanitationsystems.

257 UCLG and GTF, “Towards the Localization of the SDGs 2018,” 52–53.

234 See: www.tni.org/es/publicacion/llego-paraquedarse-la-remunicipalizacion-del-aguacomo-tendencia-global.

258 UCLG and GTF, 51.

235 See: http://www.unwater.org/publications/ un-water-glaas-2017-financing-universalwater-sanitation-hygiene-sustainabledevelopment-goals/.

260 See: https://hf.socialnibydleni.org/housingfirst-for-families-in-brno.

236 Alessandro Attolico, “Building Resilience Through Territorial Planning: The Experience of Province of Potenza,” Procedia Economics and Finance 18 (2014): 528–35, https://doi. org/10.1016/s2212-5671(14)00972-1.

237 Visit: https://www.bristol.gov. uk/documents/20182/1308373/ Bristol+Resilience+Strategy.

238 UCLG and GTF, “Towards the Localization of the SDGs 2018,” 68.

239 UCLG and GTF, 69.

240 See: http://www.resilientregions. org/2016/08/resilient-community-skane/.

241 See data at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ statistics-explained/index.php/People_at_ risk_of_poverty_or_social_exclusion.

259 UCLG and GTF, 51.

261 See: https://www.uclg-cisdp.org/en/news/ latest-news/m%C3%B3stolesspain-leadingambitious-strategy-right-housing-and-rightshomeless-people. And also: https://www. terrassa.cat/es/fons-de-lloguer-social-demergencia. See also: https://ajuntament. barcelona.cat/guardiaurbana/es/noticia/ nace-la-unidad-que-actuara-preventivamentecontra-los-desahucios_288574, as well as https://www.procasacadiz.es/omdevi.php.

262 See: https://medium.com/@UNDPEurasia/ lay-of-the-land-what-does-hdi-tell-us-abouteurasia-688968f0b3e4.

263 Dijkstra, “My Region, My Europe, Our Future.”

264 See: https://publichealthmatters.blog.gov. uk/2017/11/27/taking-action-against-healthinequalities-in-london/.

265 Dijkstra, “My Region, My Europe, Our Future.”

266 See: https://www.oxford.gov.uk/zez.

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267 More information at: https://www. fastcompany.com/3020990/a-greenspacetransit-network-to-connect-a-citys-parks-thecountryside.

268 More information at: http://www.euro.who. int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/361434/ consensus-eng.pdf?ua=1.

269 See also: http://www.euro.who.int/__data/ assets/pdf_file/0008/345599/67wd09e_ SDGroadmap_170638.pdf?ua=1.

270 Dijkstra, “My Region, My Europe, Our Future.”

271 Visit: https://www.santfeliu.cat/ go.faces?xmid=24261.

272 European Commission, “The State of European Cities 2016.”

273 See the presentation: https://ec.europa. eu/regional_policy/sources/conferences/ cities_forum_2017/segregation_keller.pdf.

289 OECD, "Working Together for Local Integration of Migrants and Refugees" (OECD, 2018), https://doi. org/10.1787/9789264085350-en.

291 More details at: https://www.uia-initiative.eu/ en/uia-cities.

316 See also: https://www.smarticipate.eu/livecase-study-hamburg-december-2016/.

292 More information at: http://urbact.eu/ anti-rumour-agents-and-cultural-activitiesincrease-acceptance-newcomers-amadorapt.

317 Visit also: https://urbact.eu/participatoryapproach-creating-city-strategicdevelopment-plan.

293 See: https://stad.gent/ghent-international/ city-policy-and-structure/asylum-andrefugees/refugee-taskforce.

294 More information at: http://urbact.eu/ finding-places.

275 For more details: https://www.ljubljana. si/en/municipality/city-of-ljubljanapublications/?category=6.

296 See also: https://www.uclg-cisdp.org/en/ right-to-the-city/european-charter.

278 Details at: https://ec.europa.eu/futurium/ en/inclusion-migrants-and-refugees/finalaction-plan-inclusion-migrants-and-refugeespartnership.

279 More details at: https://ec.europa.eu/ migrant-integration/librarydoc/migrationand-strengthening-anti-discrimination-inlocal-and-regional-governments.

280 See also: http://data.consilium.europa.eu/ doc/document/ST-15312-2016-INIT/en/pdf.

281 More information at: https://ec.europa.eu/ home-affairs/sites/homeaffairs/files/whatwe-do/policies/european-agenda-migration/ proposal-implementation-package/ docs/20160607/communication_action_ plan_integration_third-country_nationals_ en.pdf.

282 See also: https://ec.europa.eu/futurium/ en/content/dg-home-meeting-europeanintegration-network-brussels.

283 More information at: https://www.uclgcisdp.org/sites/default/files/Cities%20 for%20Migration%20and%20Rights%20 %28Minutes%20Mechelen%29.pdf.

284 Visit also: https://www.uclg-cisdp.org/en/ observatory/jugendcollege-training-andeducation-young-migrants-vienna.

285 See also: https://www.uclg-cisdp.org/ en/news/latest-news/grenoble-fostersparticipation-and-human-rights-all-itsinhabitants-through-notion.

286 Many sources available online: https:// bristol.cityofsanctuary.org/; or also http:// lanostraciutatelteurefugi.com/; and http:// www.dire.it/19-01-2018/166116-migrantinapoli-citta-rifugio-aperto-un-corridoioumanitario-per-i-richiedenti-asilo/.

287 See: https://www.ccre.org/img/uploads/ piecesjointe/filename/CEMR_Call_for_a_ real_common_european_asylum_policy_ EN.pdf.

314 Jackson and McInroy.

290 See: https://solidaritycities.eu/about.

295 Visit also: https://www.uclg-cisdp.org/en/ observatory/jugendcollege-training-andeducation-young-migrants-vienna.

277 More information at: http://citiesofmigration. ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Practice-toPolicy.pdf.

313 Matthew Jackson and Neil McInroy, “Creating a Good Local Economy: The Role of Anchor Institutions,” ed. Centre for Local Economic Strategies, Procure, 2018.

315 More details at: https://www.smarticipate. eu/by-the-public-for-the-public-romans-helpto-shape-smarticipate/.

274 OECD, "Ageing in Cities" (Paris: OECD, 2015), https://doi. org/10.1787/9789264231160-en.

276 For more detail: https://www.uclg-cisdp.org/ sites/default/files/Minutes%20Geneva%20 meeting%200409.pdf. See also: http://sim. rebo.uu.nl/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/ Oomen_Rights-and-the-City.pdf, as well as: https://welovebudapest.com/en/toplists/ accessible-budapest-how-to-enjoy-the-citywith-limited-mobility/.

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288 See also: https://www.ccre.org/img/uploads/ piecesjointe/filename/CEMR_resolution_ refugees_final_EN-0.pdf.

297 More information online: https://www.eccar. info/en.

298 More information at: http://www. agenda21culture.net/.

299 See also: https://www.coe.int/en/web/ interculturalcities.

300 Dijkstra, “My Region, My Europe, Our Future.”

301 More information at: http://www.eurocities. eu/eurocities/working_groups/UrbanAgenda-for-the-EU&tpl=home.

302 OECD and UCLG, “World Observatory on Subnational Governments’ Finance and Investment. Country Profiles,” 37–38.

303 UCLG, “Co-Creating the Urban Future”; OECD, Rural-Urban Partnerships: An Integrated Approach to Economic Development, OECD Rural Policy Reviews (Paris: OECD, 2013).

304 See: https://stockholmregion.org/news/ the-stockholm-region-has-taken-the-lead-inusing-the-possibilities-of-digitalisation/.

305 See: https://lisboncouncil.net/index. php?option=com_downloads&id=1366.

306 See: https://overheid.vlaanderen.be/ informatie-vlaanderen/en/flanders-radicallydigital.

307 More details at: https://urbact.eu/sites/ default/files/interactive_cities_final_report. pdf.

318 See: https://urbact.eu/urban-developmentmasterplan.

319 See: https://www.tartu.ee/en/participativebudgeting#participative-budgeting.

320 More information at: https://urbact.eu/ childrens-council-and-public-youth-audience.

321 Visit: https://cooperativecity. org/2017/11/21/laituri-helsinki/.

322 For more information, visit: https://www. labsus.org/2017/04/regolamento-benicomuni-il-nuovo-prototipo-di-labsus/.

323 More information at: http://ec.europa. eu/newsroom/dae/document. cfm?action=display&doc_id=17855.

324 See also: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/sites/ default/files/inline-files/eGovernment_in_ EU_June_2018_0.pdf.

325 See: http://consulproject.org/en/.

326 Multi-Stakeholder Platform on the SDGs, “Europe Moving towards a Sustainable Future,” in Towards a Sustainable Europe by 2030, ed. European Commission (Brussels, 2018).

327 CEMR-CCRE, “Cohesion Policy. 10 Key Messages for the Future” (Brussels, 2018).

328 See CEMR’s response to the EC’s open consultation on "Towards a sustainable Europe by 2030," as well as CoR, "SDGs: A Basis for a Long-Term EU Strategy for Sustainable Europe by 2030"; and MultiStakeholder Platform on the SDGs, "Europe Moving towards a Sustainable Future".

329 Multi-Stakeholder Platform on the SDGs, “Europe Moving towards a Sustainable Future”; CoR, “SDGs: A Basis for a LongTerm EU Strategy for Sustainable Europe by 2030.” A similar request was also formulated by the European Council in its Conclusions of 18 October 2018, EUCO 13/18, accessible online at: https://www. consilium.europa.eu/media/36775/18-eucofinal-conclusions-en.pdf.

308 More details at: http://www.oecd.org/gov/ ethics/Corruption-Public-ProcurementBrochure.pdf.

309 Directives 2014/24/EU (https://eurlex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ TXT/?uri=celex:32014L0024) and 2014/25/ EU (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/ EN/ALL/?uri=celex:32014L0025).

310 See: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/ EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32016R0007.

311 More information available online at: http://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/ contractaciopublica/sites/default/files/2018_ sustainable_public_procurement_plan.pdf.

312 See also: https://apolitical.co/solution_ article/manchester-focuses-spending-powerlock-wealth-local-community/.

GOLD V REGIONAL REPORT

Background — Bibliography Independent Group of Scientists. “Global Sustainable Development Report.” New York, n.d.

Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, and Norwegian Refugee Council. “Global Report on Internal Displacement.” Geneva, 2018. https://www.unocha.org/es/themes/internaldisplacement.

IPCC. “IPCC Special Report 2018: Summary for Policymakers,” 2018.

UNDESA. “World Population Prospects 2019 Data Booklet.” New York, 2019. https:// population.un.org/wpp/Publications/Files/ WPP2019_DataBooklet.pdf.

———. “World Urbanization Prospects. The 2018 Revision.” New York, 2018. https:// population.un.org/wup/Publications/Files/ WUP2018-Report.pdf.

United Nations. “The Sustainable Development Goals Report.” New York, 2019. https:// unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2019/ The-Sustainable-Development-GoalsReport-2019.pdf.

———. “Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.” New York, 2019.

———. “The Road to Dignity by 2030: Ending Poverty, Transforming All Lives and Protecting the Planet.” New York, 2014. https://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc. asp?symbol=A/69/700&Lang=E.

United Nations Secretary General. “Long-Term Impact of Current Trends in the Economic, Social and Environmental Areas on the Realization of the Sustainable Development Goals.” New York, 2019.

European region — Bibliography The 158 Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) submitted to the UN High Level Political Forum by 142 countries between 2016 and 2019 have been consulted for the elaboration of the GOLD V Report, which includes those published by countries of the European region. In order to avoid excessive repetition in this bibliography, you may find all such VNRs here: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/vnrs Assmann, Dirk, Jasmin Honold, Busso Grabow, and Jochen Roose. “SDG Indicators for Municipalities. Indicators for Mapping Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations in German Municipalities.”

Gütersloh, 2018.

Attolico, Alessandro. “Building Resilience Through Territorial Planning: The Experience of Province of Potenza.” Procedia Economics and Finance 18 (2014): 528–35. https://doi. org/10.1016/s2212-5671(14)00972-1.

Baqueriza-Jackson, Matthew, ed. “Creating a Good Local Economy through Procurement.” Procure. Paris, 2018. https:// urbact.eu/sites/default/files/media/procure_ final_report.pdf.

Bouckaert, Geert, Sabine Kuhlmann, and Christian Schwab. “L’avenir Des Administrations Locales En Europe : Leçons Tirées de La Recherche et de La Pratique Dans 31 Pays,” 2018. https://doi.org/10.4000/books. igpde.5426.

Brande, Luc Van den. “Multilevel Governance and Partnership. The Van Den Brande Report.

Special Report Prepared at the Request of the Commissioner for Regional and Urban Policy Johannes Hahn.” Brussels, 2014.

CEMR-CCRE. “Cohesion Policy. 10 Key Messages for the Future.” Brussels, 2018. https://www. ccre.org/img/uploads/piecesjointe/filename/ CEMR_10_key_messages_cohesion_policy_ EN.pdf.

CEMR-CCRE, and Dexia. “EU Sub-National Governments: 2008 Key Figures.”

Brussels, 2010. https://www.ccre.org/docs/ nuancier_2009_en.pdf.

CEMR-CCRE, and PLATFORMA. “How Local & Regional Government Associations Bring the SDGs to Life.” Brussels, 2019. https://www. ccre.org/img/uploads/piecesjointe/filename/ CEMR_PLATFORMA_study_SDGs_2019_ EN.pdf.

GOLD V REGIONAL REPORT —— EUROPE

City of Bristol, University of Bristol, and Bristol Green Capital Partnership. “Driving the Sustainable Development Goals Agenda at City Level in Bristol.” Bristol Method+.

Bristol, 2018.

Committee of the Regions. “A Territorial Approach for the Implementation of the SDGs in the EU. The Role of the European Committee of the Regions.” Commission for Economic Policy ECON. Brussels, 2019.

———. “Charter for Multilevel Governance in Europe.” Brussels, 2014.

———. “Europe Moving toward a Sustainable Future.” Brussels, 2018.

———. “SDGs: A Basis for a Long-Term EU Strategy for Sustainable Europe by 2030.”

ECON-VI/044. Brussels, 2019.

———. “White Paper on Multilevel Governance.”

Brussels: Committee of the Regions, July 18, 2009. http://cor.europa.eu/en/activities/ governance/Documents/mlg-whitepaper/0387_inside-en-last.pdf.

Committee of the Regions, and OECD. “Survey Results Note. The Key Contribution of Regions and Cities to Sustainable Development.” Brussels, 2019. https://cor. europa.eu/en/events/Documents/ECON/ CoR-OECD-SDGs-Survey-Results-Note.pdf.

Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.

“Fact-Finding Mission on the Situation of Local Elected Representatives in the Republic of Moldova.” Strasbourg, 2018. https://rm.coe.int/local-democracy-in-therepublic-of-moldova-monitoring-committeerappor/16807931de.

———. “La Démocratie Locale et Régionale En Suisse.” Strasbourg, 2017. https://rm.coe. int/la-democratie-locale-et-regionale-ensuisse/1680750d63.

Council of Europe. European Charter of Local Self-Government (1985). https://rm.coe. int/168007a088.

———. “Local and Regional Democracy in the United Kingdom.” CG(26)10. Strasbourg, 2014.

Dijkstra, Lewis, ed. “My Region, My Europe, Our Future. Seventh Report on Economic, Social and Territorial Cohesion.” Brussels, 2017.

European Commission. Communication on the next steps for a sustainable European future: European action for sustainability (2016). https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/sites/devco/ files/communication-next-steps-sustainableeurope-20161122_en.pdf.

———. Cotonou Agreement (2000). http://www. europarl.europa.eu/intcoop/acp/03_01/pdf/ mn3012634_en.pdf.

———. Empowering Local Authorities in partner countries for enhanced governance and more effective development outcomes (2013). https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/ sites/devco/files/communicationlocal-authorities-in-partner-countriescom2013280-20130515_en_4.pdf.

———. “European Governance.” Brussels, 2001. https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/sites/ devco/files/communication-white-papergovernance-com2001428-20010725_en.pdf.

———. “Supporting the Sustainable Development Goals across the World: The 2019 Joint Synthesis Report of the European Union and Its Member States.” SWD(2019) 176 Final.

Brussels, 2019.

———. “The Future of Cities. Opportunities, Challenges and the Way Forward.” Brussels, 2019.

———. The principles of subsidiarity and proportionality: Strengthening their role in the EU’s policymaking (2018). https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/ communication-principles-subsidiarityproportionality-strengthening-rolepolicymaking_en.pdf.

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———. “The State of European Cities 2016; Cities Leading the Way to a Better Future.”

Brussels, 2016. https://ec.europa.eu/ regional_policy/sources/policy/themes/ cities-report/state_eu_cities2016_en.pdf.

———. “Towards a Sustainable Europe by 2030.”

Reflection Papers. Brussels, 2018. https:// ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/betapolitical/files/rp_sustainable_europe_30-01_ en_web.pdf.

European Council. Conclusions of European Council Meeting, 18 October 2018 (2018).

European Economic and Social Committee.

“Exposing EU Policy Gaps to Address the Sustainable Development Goals.” Brussels, 2018. http://unsdsn.org/wp-content/ uploads/2019/01/QE-02-19-009-EN-N-4.pdf.

European Parliament. Europe’s approach to implementing the SDGs: good practices and the way forward (2019).

European Parliament, EP Committee on Development, and EP Committee on the Environment Public Health and Food Safety. Annual strategic report on the implementation and delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (2019). http://www.europarl.europa.eu/ doceo/document/A-8-2019-0160_EN.docx.

European Union. New European Consensus on Development. Our world, our dignity, our future (2017). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/ legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:C:2017: 210:FULL&from=EN. ———. Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community (2007). http:// data.europa.eu/eli/treaty/lis/sign.

Eurostat. “Sustainable Development in the European Union. Overview of Progress towards the SDGs in an EU Context.”

Brussels, 2017. https://ec.europa.eu/ eurostat/documents/4031688/8461538/KS01-17-796-EN-N.pdf/f9c4e3f9-57eb-4f02ab7a-42a7ebcf0748.

Fernández de Losada, Agustí. “Shaping a New Generation of Decentralised Cooperation for Enhanced Effectiveness and Accountability,” 2017.

Futureagenda. “Future of Cities. Insights from Multiple Expert Discussions around the World.” London, 2017.

Hooghe, Liesbet, Gary Marks, Arjan H. Schakel, Chapman-Osterkatz, Niedzwiecki Sara Sandra, and Sarah Shair-Rosenfield.

Measuring Regional Authority. Volume I: A Postfunctionalist Theory of Governance.

Oxford University Press. Vol. 1, 2016. https:// books.google.co.uk/books?id=hldxCwAAQ BAJ&hl=ca&source=gbs_navlinks_s.

Jackson, Matthew, and Neil McInroy. “Creating a Good Local Economy: The Role of Anchor Institutions.” Edited by Centre for Local Economic Strategies, Procure, 2018.

Keranidou, Deppy, Marthe Van Laarhoven, Hans Sakkers, and Desirée van de Ven. “Utrecht: A Global Goals City. Utrecht’s Approach to Localising the UN Sustainable Development Goals.” Utrecht, 2018.

Ladner, Andreas, Nicolas Keuffer, and Harald Baldersheim. “Measuring Local Autonomy in 39 Countries (1990–2014).” Regional and Federal Studies 26, no. 3 (May 26, 2016): 321–57. https://doi.org/10.1080/13597566.

2016.1214911.

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Montalto, V., C. Jorge Tacao Moura, S. Langedijk, and M. Saisana. “The Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor. 2017 Edition.” Brussels, 2017. https://doi.org/10.2760/58643.

Schlappa, Hans, and William JV Neill. “From Crisis to Choice: Re-Imagining the Future in Shrinking Cities.” URBACT II Capitalisation.

Saint-Denis, 2013.

Multi-Stakeholder Platform on the SDGs. “Europe Moving towards a Sustainable Future.” In Towards a Sustainable Europe by 2030, edited by European Commission. Brussels, 2018.

Siméon, Marlene, Nathalie Noupadia, and Lisa Bardot. “Sustainable Development Goals.

How Europe’s Towns and Regions Are Taking the Lead.” Brussels, 2018. https://platformadev.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/ PLATFORMA-CEMR-SDG-localisation-EN.pdf.

OECD. Ageing in Cities. Paris: OECD, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264231160-en.

———. “Annex B: Classification of the Functions of Government (COFOG). Government at a Glance.” Paris, 2011. http://www.oecd.org/ gov/48250728.pdf.

———. “Making Decentralisation Work. A Handbook for Policy-Makers.” OECD MultiLevel Governance Studies. Paris, 2019. https://www.oecd.org/regional/makingdecentralisation-work-g2g9faa7-en.htm.

———. Measuring Distance to the SDG Targets 2017 : An Assessment of Where OECD Countries Stand. OECD, 2018.

———. Multi-Level Governance Reforms: Overview of OECD Country Experiences, n.d.

———. Reshaping Decentralised Development Co-Operation: The Key Role of Cities and Regions for the 2030 Agenda. Paris: OECD, 2018.

———. Rural-Urban Partnerships: An Integrated Approach to Economic Development. OECD Rural Policy Reviews. Paris: OECD, 2013. http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/urban-ruraland-regional-development/rural-urbanpartnerships_9789264204812-en.

———. “Subnational Governments in OECD Countries: Key Data 2018 Edition.” Paris, 2018. http://www.oecd.org/regional/ Subnational-governments-in-OECDCountries-Key-Data-2018.pdf.

———. “Working Together for Local Integration of Migrants and Refugees.” Paris: OECD, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264085350-en.

OECD, and UCLG. “Subnational Governments around the World: Structure and Finance.”

Barcelona: UCLG Committee on Local Finance and Development, 2016. http://www. uclg-localfinance.org/documents/publication/ subnational-governments-around-worldstructure-and-finance.

———. “World Observatory on Sub-National Governments’ Finance and Investment.

Country Profiles.” Paris, 2019. http://www. oecd.org/cfe/regional-policy/Observatoryon-Subnational-Government-Finance-andInvestment.htm.

Pittini, Alice, Gerald Koessl, Julien Dijol, Edit Lakatos, and Laurent Ghekiere. “The State of Housing in the EU 2017.” Brussels, 2017. http://www.housingeurope.eu/file/614/ download.

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GOLD V REGIONAL REPORT

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The Localization of the Global Agendas How local action is transforming territories and communities

Europe is one of the regions where decentralization is strongly embedded in institutions and policies in many countries.

However, local and regional governments have experienced major challenges and reforms in their institutional environment in the past years that have impacted the scope of their responsibilities, resources and autonomy. The 2030 Agenda has become an opportunity for them to influence policy-making processes, to advocate for an improved enabling environment and a multilevel governance approach, and to strengthen citizens’ participation mechanisms.

With the support of their European umbrella organization, the Council of European Municipalities and Regions, and their national associations, European local and regional governments are showing a growing commitment to the global agendas related to sustainable development. They have been particularly active in the localization of the 2030 Agenda, taking the lead in different areas such as climate action, social inclusion and economic prosperity, developing alternatives such as shared and circular economy development. As the level of government closest to their citizens, they are taking measures to tackle urban and territorial governance, strengthening cooperation between and within territories (e.g. inter-municipal cooperation, urbanrural partnerships), as well as involving civil society, the business sector, social partners and academia to co-create sustainable alternatives. They are also strengthening their links and knowledge sharing with their peers outside the EU, thanks to PLATFORMA, a pan-European coalition of 30 local and regional governments, with the support of the European Commission.

As part of the GOLD V Report, this publication provides a mapping of the state of the art of localization of the global agendas in Europe, and of the way decentralization, multilevel governance and other institutional frameworks contribute to or hinder these processes. This publication shows the considerable variability that exists between countries as regards the engagement of local and regional governments, particularly between Northern and Western European countries on the one hand, and Central and South-Eastern countries on the other.

This publication also offers a number of best practices implemented by cities and regions across the European continent that prove how the subnational sphere is often taking the lead to ensure that public services respond to the growing demands of their communities, as well as to support sustainable local development in all its dimensions. Despite the current challenges at both global and local level, local and regional governments are, all in all, fostering a sense of collective responsibility to transform territories and communities and thus achieve more equitable, fair and sustainable societies.

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This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of UCLG and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.

This document has been financed by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Sida. Sida does not necessarily share the views expressed in this material. Responsibility for its content rests entirely with the author.

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The GOLD V Regional Report on Europe